50 Housebuilders Now Signed Up To Offer Deposit Unlock
The homebuilding industry’s low-deposit mortgage scheme, Deposit Unlock, is helping hundreds of people to realise their dreams of homeownership and now has 50 builders signed up with an increasing choice of lenders on board.
The 5% deposit mortgage scheme was developed by the Home Builders Federation in partnership with major homebuilders and reinsurance broker, Gallagher Re.
The scheme was launched in response to the ending of Help to Buy in England and aims to support more buyers get onto or move up the housing ladder by making homeownership more affordable.
Deposit Unlock works by offering participating mortgage lenders protection on mortgage products so they can lend to consumers at 95%. This means first-time buyers and existing homeowners can use Deposit Unlock to purchase a new build home worth up to £833,000 with a 5% deposit and a competitively priced mortgage product.
The scheme is now available on homes of almost 50 major and SME homebuilder brands, with an increasing number set to join the list.
This update comes on the back of research launched as part of New Homes Week (27 February to 3 March), which found 18% of people felt the top issue preventing them from buying a house was uncertainty over whether they would be able to secure a mortgage.
David O’Leary, executive director at HBF said: “Through Deposit Unlock homebuilders are making a significant investment in supporting people to access competitive mortgage products that’d otherwise be unattainable. The scheme began with one lender and 17 homebuilders. It has now extended across a range of mortgage lenders and HBF members nationally. Importantly, against a challenging financial backdrop, it’s providing much-needed support to enable more families to achieve homeownership.”
Steven Rance, managing partner of mortgage indemnity reinsurance at Gallagher Re, said: “Deposit Unlock is a great example of cross-industry collaboration for social good. It has seen homebuilders, lenders and insurers come together to create and deliver a long-term, sustainable scheme that will allow more people to realise their dream of homeownership.
“Even in today’s tough financial environment, competitively-priced, low-deposit mortgage products for new build homes, with all their energy performance benefits, are now more available throughout the UK thanks to the scheme. And, as we seek to maximise choice for home buyers, it’s fantastic to see the number of house builders and lenders active under Deposit Unlock growing daily.”
More information on Deposit Unlock can be found at here or at deposit-unlock.co.uk.