The new Help to Buy: Equity Loan (2021-2023) scheme is now open for business.
Homes England has announced that first-time buyers interested in new-build homes can apply for the new Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme.
With a Help to Buy: Equity Loan, the government lends homebuyers up to 20%, or 40% in London, of the cost of a newly built home.
Customers pay a deposit of 5% or more and arrange a mortgage of 25% or more to make up the rest. The equity loan is interest-free for the first five years.
Homebuilders are getting into contract for the new scheme and starting to market their new build homes.
Eligible first-time buyers will be able to reserve their homes from mid-December and get the keys to move in from 1 April 2021.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick commented: “The government is providing more ways to help families onto the housing ladder, and provide that life-changing moment when you get the keys to your own home.
“Alongside First Homes, Shared Ownership and our £12bn investment in affordable housing, our new Help to Buy scheme will help thousands more families take their first step into a home of their own.”
Help to Buy has already helped more than 270,000 people into home ownership and 82% are first-time buyers, according to Will German, director of Help to Buy at Homes England.
He said: “The new Help to Buy builds on this success with first-time buyers in front of mind.
“We’re pleased we can help homebuyers with smaller deposits to own a home, at a time where there are fewer options open to them.
“Housing, like most sectors, has experienced a slowdown during the Covid-crisis. But Help to Buy continues to give homebuilders the confidence to keep on building at a more crucial time than ever.”
It is hoped that the new Help to Buy: Equity Loan (2021-2023) scheme will help more first-time buyers gain a foot on the housing ladder.
This has to be extended to second hand homes. Not just new build. It has created so much negative equity in new homes, distorted new homes / second hand house prices significantly and created literally billions of pounds of profits for house builders, who sell new at premium prices as they have a ‘captive audience’ of first time buyers.
First time sellers cannot find buyers with a 20% deposit and so are losing out. If they could find a buyer, then this would create a chain of sales, given the first time seller would be moving up the property ladder, thus expanding the market significantly and potentially the SDLT take.
Its a very simple solution and the Treasury should look at this urgently.
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