Official Statistics

Help to Buy: equity loan scheme: data to 31 March 2022

Published 10 August 2022

Applies to England

Date of next publication: It is expected that the Help to Buy: Equity Loan statistics to 30 June 2022 will be published in November 2022. The date will be pre-announced on the GOV.UK publication release calendar.

On 1 April 2021, the current scheme of Help to Buy (2021-23) was introduced. This scheme has different eligibility criteria to the previous scheme (2013-2021), for more information please see the technical notes. Due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous scheme ran simultaneously to the new scheme between 1 April and 31 May 2021. The statistics reported in this release (1 January to 31 March 2022) represent the third quarter where only the current scheme was in effect and the first full financial year of the current scheme.

Completions from this quarter, 2022 Q1, will primarily be compared against completions in the same quarter of the previous year, 2021 Q1. However, comparisons to 2019 Q1 will also be offered due to the large variation seen in Help to Buy: Equity Loan completions since 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Key statistics

Between 1 January and 31 March 2022 5,395 properties were bought with an equity loan, down by 65% from the same period in 2021.

From 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2022, 361,075 properties were bought with an equity loan.

The total value of these equity loans so far totals £22.5 billion.

The value of the properties sold under the scheme totals £100.8 billion.

2. About the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme

Help to Buy: Equity Loans were introduced on 1 April 2013 as a means for helping buyers purchase new build properties. The government would provide, via an equity loan, up to 20% of the value of a property (up to 40% in London since 1 February 2016) which is repayable when the property is sold in the future. In 2020, it was announced that the Help to Buy scheme would change on 1 April 2021 with new eligibility criteria and regional price caps.

The previous scheme deadlines initially required properties to be built out by the end of December 2020 and completed by the end of March 2021. However, due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, an extension was granted until 28 February 2021 for properties to be built out and for legal sale completion until 31 May 2021.

2.1 Previous scheme (2013-2021)

The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme which ran from 1 April 2013 to 31 May 2021 offered customers an equity loan of up to 20% of the purchase price of a new build property with a maximum value of £600,000. In Greater London, the maximum equity loan was increased to 40% in February 2016. The scheme was open to anyone purchasing a property, but was targeted at first-time buyers, who made up 82% of all purchases. See more detailed analysis of the previous Help to Buy scheme.

2.2 Current scheme (2021-2023)

The Help to Buy: Equity Loan 2021-2023 scheme was initially announced in 2018 and launched on 1 April 2021. The scheme is similar to the 2013-2021 scheme, but is limited to first-time buyers^{[footnote 1]} and the purchase price of the properties is capped by region^{[footnote 2]}.

3. Quarterly figures for 2022 Q1

In 2022 Q1 (1 January to 31 March 2022)^{[footnote 3]}, there were 5,395 properties purchased with a Help to Buy: Equity Loan, using a total value of £448 million in equity loans and supporting the purchase of £1,727 million worth of property.

The total number of completions in 2022 Q1 were down by 65% compared to the same quarter of the previous year and down by 48% compared to 2019 Q1.

As can be seen from Figure 1 below, the number of completions dropped significantly during the initial restrictions introduced in spring 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and, in May 2020, completions were down by 66% when compared to May 2019. Following the easing of restrictions and the introduction of the stamp duty holiday in July 2020, completions increased, with December 2020 achieving the highest number of completions for the entire scheme. In April 2021, the current Help to Buy scheme was introduced with eligibility criteria restricted to First Time Buyers and new regional price caps. Since then, completions have reduced and, in March 2022, were down by 65% compared to March 2021 and down by 57% compared to March 2019.

Figure 1. Total completions using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme in England, by month, March 2019 to March 2022

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The introduction of the current Help to Buy scheme in 2021 Q2 led to a reduction in completions compared to 2021 Q1 in all regions of England except London. The decreases seen across England are due in part to the regional price caps which were introduced. London, however, was not subject to a change in price cap maintaining the £600,000 price cap from the previous Help to Buy scheme. This may be a reason why completions did not decline in London in the same manner in 2021 Q2.

In all regions, completions were down in 2022 Q1 when compared to 2021 Q1 and 2019 Q1. Completions in the North East were down by the greatest amount in 2022 Q1, reducing by 85% and 77% when compared to 2021 Q1 and 2019 Q1 respectively. The decrease in London was comparably the least in 2022 Q1 with completions decreasing by 32% and 15% when compared to 2021 Q1 and 2019 Q1 respectively.

Figure 2. Total completions using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme scaled by number of households^{[footnote 4]}, by English region, by quarter, 2019 Q2 to 2022 Q1

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4. Property purchase price

The previous Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme (2013-2021) could be used to purchase a new build property up to the value of £600,000 anywhere in England. However, the current scheme introduced regional price caps^{[footnote 2]} which increased the restrictions on purchases in regions outside of London.

As can be seen from Figure 3 below, the introduction of these price caps has led to a reduction in the mean purchase price of properties using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme in all regions, except London. In 2022 Q1, the mean price of properties purchased using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme were down in all regions, except London where the mean property purchase price increased by 1% compared to 2021 Q1, the last full quarter of the previous scheme. The largest decrease was in the North East where the mean property purchase price reduced by 29% in 2022 Q1 compared to 2021 Q1.

Figure 3. Mean Property price of homes purchased using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by English Region, by quarter, 2019 Q2 to 2022 Q1

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5. Applicant household incomes

The total applicant household income of properties purchased using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme refers to the total income for the household, irrespective of how many members of that household are making the purchase.

The introduction of the current Help to Buy (2021-23) scheme was intended to target more lower income households through the introduction of the first-time buyer eligibility criteria^{[footnote 1]}.

As can be seen from Figure 4 below, the median household income is lower in all regions in 2022 Q1 than in the final full quarter of the previous scheme in 2021 Q1. As with mean property purchase price, the largest decrease in median household income was in the North East where median income fell by 24% in 2022 Q1 when compared to 2021 Q1.

Figure 4. Median total applicant household income of purchasers using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by English region, by quarter, 2019 Q2 to 2022 Q1

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6. Purchaser deposits

In order to qualify for a Help to Buy: Equity Loan, the purchaser is required to have a minimum 5% deposit on the purchase price of the property.

As can be seen from Figure 5 below, the mean deposit percentage in all regions is lower for the current scheme than the previous scheme. This indicates that the scheme is being used by more users who do not have a substantial amount of savings. As well as the mean deposit percentage decreasing, the absolute mean deposit amount decreased in all regions in England except London.

Figure 5. Mean deposit percentage of homes purchased using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by English Region, by quarter, 2019 Q2 to 2022 Q1

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7. Property characteristics

Property characteristics including the property type and the number of bedrooms of properties sold under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme are recorded for each completion in the scheme. The property type has been categorised into Detached, Semi-Detached, Terraced, Bungalow and Flat (including 80 Studio apartments) and the number of bedrooms into 1, 2, 3 and 4 or more bedroom properties.

Following the introduction of the current Help to Buy (2021-23) scheme, there has been a lower proportion of detached and a higher proportion of semi-detached and flat properties sold compared to the previous scheme. In the last full financial year of the previous scheme, 36% of properties purchased with a Help to Buy Equity Loan were detached, 32% were semi-detached and 20% were flats. Whereas, in the first full financial year of the current scheme, the proportion of detached properties purchased fell to 14%, whilst the proportion of semi-detached and flats increased to 41% and 31% respectively.

Help to Buy continues to mainly support the purchase of houses with 81% of all transactions since 1 April 2013 either for detached, semi-detached, terraced or bungalow properties.

As can be seen from Figure 6 below, the proportion of homes purchased using Help to Buy by property type differs by region. The biggest change was in the North East where the proportion of detached properties fell by 43 percentage points and the proportion of semi-detached properties increased by 32 percentage points in the first full financial year of the current scheme compared to the last full financial year of the previous scheme. The largest increase in the proportion of flats was in the South West where the proportion of flats increased by 12 percentage points in the first full financial year of the current scheme from the final full financial year of the previous scheme.

Figure 6. Proportion of type of properties purchased using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by English Region and Help to Buy scheme

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There has been a lower proportion of 4 or more bedroom properties sold under the current Help to Buy scheme which is to be expected given there has been a lower proportion of detached properties. In the final full financial year of the previous scheme, 30% of properties purchased were 4 or more bed properties compared to 8% of properties in the first full financial year of the current scheme. The proportion of 1 or 2 bedroom properties purchased using Help to Buy has increased under the current scheme. In the final full financial year of the previous scheme, 28% of properties purchased were 1 or 2 bedroom properties compared to 45% of properties in the first full financial year of the current scheme. This is again to be expected given the higher proportion of semi-detached properties and flats.

As can be seen from Figure 7 below, this again differs by region. In all regions, the proportion of 4 or more bedroom properties decreased in the first full financial year of the current scheme when compared to the final full financial year of the previous scheme. The largest decrease was in the North East where the proportion of 4 or more bedroom properties reduced by 40 percentage points. The proportion of 1 or 2 bedroom properties increased in all regions. The largest increase was in the West Midlands where the proportion of 1 or 2 bedroom properties increased by 22 percentage points from the final full financial year of the previous scheme to the first full financial year of the current scheme.

Figure 7. Proportion of number of bedroom properties purchased using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by English Region and Help to Buy scheme

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8. Accompanying tables

Accompanying tables are available to download alongside this release:

• Table 1. Number and value of Help to Buy: Equity Loans (quarterly), by local authority, England

• Table 1b. Number and value of Help to Buy: Equity Loans (quarterly) for first time buyers, by local authority, England

• Table 2. Number and value of Help to Buy: Equity Loans (monthly), England

The statistical release Tables 1 - 9b which appeared in previous versions of this release are also available to download from the link above.

In addition, legacy Help to Buy: NewBuy tables are also available at the link above.

These tables have not been updated. For more information please see the technical notes.

• Table 3. Cumulative number of Help to Buy: NewBuy completions (since March 2012) by local authority, England

• Table 10. Number of legal completions, Government liability (£m), and cost to Government (£m) under the Help to Buy: NewBuy Guarantee scheme, England

9. Technical notes

Please see the accompanying technical notes for further details.

10. Enquiries

Media enquiries:
Office hours: 0303 444 1209
Email: NewsDesk@levellingup.gov.uk

Public enquiries and Responsible Statistician: Jade Berry
Email: housing.statistics@levellingup.gov.uk

Information on Official Statistics is available via the UK Statistics Authority website.

Information about statistics at DLUHC is available via the Department’s website.

1. In order to qualify for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan 2021-2023 scheme, the purchaser(s) must be a First Time Buyer(s) meaning purchaser(s) who have not previously acquired via purchase, gift, trust or inheritance a major interest in a dwelling or an equivalent interest in residential land situated anywhere in the world; and/or benefited from any form of Sharia mortgage finance. If the Eligible Dwelling is being bought by more than 1 individual then all purchasers must be First Time Buyers. ↩ ↩²

2. The Regional Purchase Price Caps are fixed for the duration of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan 2021-2023 scheme. ↩ ↩²

3. Between 2014 and 2019, quarters 2 and 4 have generally seen more Help to Buy completions than quarters 1 and 3 as developers have half-year and year-end sales targets. However, the restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the measures introduced to stimulate the housing market and changes to the Help to Buy scheme have meant that quarterly comparisons since 2020 Q1 are not as robust. ↩

4. The number of households with at least one usual resident, 2021, as given by the Census 2021 data. ↩