Help to Buy helps 77,000 people onto the property ladder
New figures show more than 77,000 homes have been bought under Help to Buy schemes.
The number of people joining the housing ladder continues to grow as new figures show more than 77,000 homes have been bought under the government’s flagship Help to Buy schemes, Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said today (30 January 2015).
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis welcomed the figures, which show more people are getting a home of their own through the scheme and as a result housebuilding levels continue to climb.
Today’s figures show:
- 41,533 households helped into new build homes under the Help to Buy (equity loan) scheme up to December 2014
- of these 83% are first time buyers (34,419)
- of total sales 94% were outside London
- 30,269 households buying new and existing homes through Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee
- 5,588 households supported into a new build home through the Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme
In total more than 77,000 households have been supported under Help to Buy up to December 2014.
Help to Buy increases homeowners - and house building
Help to Buy is a key part of the government’s long-term economic plan.
Sales through the Help to Buy have been strong across the country, with Wiltshire (748) seeing the highest number.
The top 5 other areas that have a strong number of Help to Buy sales include Leeds (669), Central Bedfordshire (650), Milton Keynes (567), Peterborough (564) and Birmingham (527).
The scheme has also helped get the country building again - housebuilding has risen to the highest level since 2007, and companies are now taking on workers at the fastest rate since 1997.
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said:
The figures today show clearly that Help to Buy supports aspiring homeowners and is a key part of our drive to help hardworking people who want a home of their own.
To date, Help to Buy has helped over 77,000 households to purchase a home with just a fraction of the deposit they would normally require. The scheme has also helped get the country building again, with private housebuilding up 20% over the last year, and its highest since 2007.
This, and today’s industry figures showing 100,000 new housebuilding jobs created in just the last 18 months, show clearly that Help to Buy is a success.
Today’s Help to Buy statistics are published as new industry figures show a sharp increase in the numbers of housebuilding jobs, with 100,000 additional jobs created in England.
Home Builders Federation Executive Chairman Stewart Baseley said:
Recruiting more skilled workers will be key as the industry shapes up to build the homes the country needs. The recent steep increase in house building activity has seen builders across the country recruiting heavily. As the industry increases build rates further, tens of thousands of workers will be needed, from apprentices to skilled professionals.
The industry needs skilled and ambitious people in a range of areas including bricklayers, site managers, engineers and finance professionals and offers an exciting and rewarding career for anyone who wants to help build the communities of the future.
Further information
View today’s Help to Buy statistics.
The Home Builders Federation have published figures showing 100,000 new jobs have been created in the housebuilding industry in the last 18 months.
The Home Builders Federation have today launched a new house building careers website.
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