In the government’s final update for the now closed scheme it revealed that 387,195 homes were bought using the scheme between its launch on 1 April 2013 and closure on 31 May this year, 82 per cent of which went to first-time buyers.
The total value of properties bought was £109.2bn.
December 2020 was the most successful month for completions over the 10-year period as homebuyers scrambled to buy properties during the stamp duty holiday when the land tax was scrapped for homes with a price tag of less than £500,000.
Close to 80 per cent of all properties bought using a Help to Buy home were houses. In London, however, buyers predominately purchased flats.
The official deadline for the scheme’s end was 31 March but housebuilders were able to apply for a two-month extension for homes that were almost complete, allowing 106 more households to benefit from the government-backed loan.
Under the original scheme’s rules, any borrower was eligible for a Help to Buy loan. In 2021, eligibility criteria changed and only first-time buyers could apply.
Borrowers could borrow up to 20 per cent of the property purchase price in the form of an equity loan (40 per cent in London) which was interest-free for the first years. The loan is repaid when the house is sold.
