Help to Buy still helping homebuyers onto the property ladder

April marked the anniversary of the Help to Buy launch. Now, three years since its inception, thousands of buyers have benefitted from the government scheme designed to help people buy their first or next home. In fact, since the scheme launched, 73,813 buyers have used the scheme to secure a new build property using the tried and tested equity loan scheme.

To mark the anniversary, Linden Homes has announced findings from its own quarterly Help to Buy barometer, the second instalment of its kind, reviewing the effectiveness of the scheme and establish where it has been most highly adopted across the country.

The most recent index published this quarter indicates that Help to Buy still equates to approximately a third of Linden Homes’ sales, with 30% of the company’s buyers now using the scheme.

During the last quarter, for the second time in succession, the Midlands region has seen the highest volume of Help to Buy sales across the Linden Homes group, with the scheme accounting for over half (51%) of all sales for that area.

The Midlands also had the highest level of Help to Buy sales relative to overall sales, followed closely by the western region and the eastern region with Help to Buy accounting for 43% and 42% of sales during the last quarter respectively.

During the last quarter, over two thirds (68%) of all Linden Homes’ Help to Buy purchasers were first-time buyers. With figures confirming lower than the national average of 81% of first-time buyers, (HM Treasury / DCLG report March 2016), this illustrates the scheme’s ability to get people moving up the ladder as well those buying their first home. Interestingly, the highest proportion of first-time buyers of Linden Homes properties using Help to Buy were purchasing properties in the South East, with the majority of those using the brand new Help to Buy London scheme. This initiative specific to selected London developments, differs slightly in offering buyers the opportunity to lend up to 40% of the property value whilst the buyer secures at least a 5% deposit.

Tom Nicholson, divisional managing director at Linden Homes comments on the second instalment of the barometer: “We wanted to track the Help to Buy scheme to see how it is working across our group and monitor where it is proving most popular. It’s really interesting to identify emerging trends and gain reassurance that the scheme is continuing to assist so many buyers across the country.

"We have seen over 1,800 people use Help to Buy to purchase their dream home, so it working and across the breadth of our business too. It’s also interesting to see the effect Help to Buy London has had on the South East market; reinvigorating the capital and surrounding areas.” 

Find Help to Buy properties using our dedicated Help to Buy search page