Agency reveals where Help to Buy withdrawal is hitting hardest
Since 2013 Help to Buy helped 387,195 first-time buyers onto the property ladder, allowing them to purchase properties to the tune of £24.7 billion. But no longer.
Estate agency giant Lomond reckons it’s first-time buyers in Bedfordshire, Wiltshire, Milton Keynes and Wakefield who are most in need of a helping hand up on to the property ladder following the scheme’s withdrawal last year.
Since 2013 Help to Buy has helped 387,195 first-time buyers onto the property ladder, allowing them to purchase properties worth £24.7 billion.
BIGGEST IMPACT
Regionally, the government scheme had the biggest impact in the South East, enabling over 70,000 transactions – 18.2% of the national total. London accounted for the highest value of the scheme’s transactions with £6.9 billion worth of London property sold.
But Lomond found Central Bedfordshire to be the location where first-time buyers are most likely to be struggling in the scheme’s absence where some 5,736 first-time buyers had climbed the ladder thanks to Help to Buy, accounting for 1.5% of total Help to Buy transactions seen across England.
Wiltshire ranked second, where 5,295 Help to Buy transactions took place, accounting for 1,4% of the national total while Milton Keynes was the third hottest hotspot, accounting for 1.2% of total homes sold via the scheme.
Help to Buy transactions also accounted for one per cent or more of the national total across Wakefield (1.2%), Leeds (1.1%), Cheshire East (1%), County Durham (1%) and Bedford (1%).
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
Ed Phillips, Lomond Chief Executive, says: “There’s no doubt that Help to Buy had a significant impact in helping hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers onto the property ladder and, now that it has finally finished, many more will continue to struggle with the high cost of getting their first foot on the ladder.
“In fact, with mortgage rates having climbed significantly of late and the higher cost of living also remaining a challenge, first-time buyers could use a helping hand now more than ever.”
He adds: “As our research shows, it’s not just the areas with the highest property values where the need of first-time buyers is at its greatest. Yes, property values are a notable obstacle, but the ability to climb the ladder also centres around additional factors such as stock availability and earning ability.
“If we don’t address these issues promptly, we could see the next generation of homeowners fail to materialise as they remain resigned to the rental sector through necessity, not choice.”
