Help to Buy sales drop 11% in final full quarter of scheme

The number of homes bought through the government’s equity loan scheme Help to Buy in England dropped 11% year-on-year in the third quarter of last year, official statistics have shown. 

Buyers bought 6,531 properties via the scheme between 1 July and 30 September, down on from the 7,316 homes sold in the same period last year. 

The period is the last quarter the full scheme will be in operation as the scheme closed to new applications on 31 October. The scheme enabled buyers to buy with a 5% deposit using an equity loan worth 20% of the price of a new build home (40% in London).

The total value of equity loans used for the 6,531 properties was £561m and the value of the properties sold was £2,142m.  

The number of homes bought through Help to Buy has been reducing since stricter criteria was bought in at the end of 2021, limiting sales to first-time buyers.

The government last month agreed to extend the practical completion deadline through the scheme to 17 March, while the overall deadline legal completions is 31 March.

The number of Help to Buy Homes bought in England in 2022 in total was 19,967, compared to 42,519 in 2021 and 49,839 in 2020.

>>See also: Help to Buy: It’s the end of an era

>>See also: Where are Help to Buy sales falling fastest?

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) statistics showed 375,654 homes have been bought through the scheme, through which the government provides up to 20% of the value of a property, since it started in April 2013. This equates to £23.7bn in loans with the value of the properties sold under Help to Buy so far being £105.4bn. The buyer must have at least 5% deposit on the purchase price of the property to buy a home under the scheme. 

The figures for Help to Buy sales in the fourth quarter of last year will be published this May.