Fareham MP Suella Braverman has welcomed new statistics showing that almost half a million people have used the Government’s Help to Buy schemes in order to buy their own home, with the Help to Buy: ISA seeing 265 completions in Fareham and 14,295 for the whole of the South East.
Mrs Braverman, who has voiced her support for the Welborne Garden Village initiative which will provide over 6,000 new homes, said she is committed to supporting initiatives which ensure that more affordable homes are built for aspiring home owners and young local families in Fareham.
The Help to Buy scheme assists first time buyers who wish to get on the property ladder, with the ISA giving a £3,000 government bonus on savings. Last week, quarterly figures revealed that all Help to Buy schemes saw a landmark 430,000 completions, with over 93% of transactions taking place outside of London.
Welcoming the figures, Suella Braverman said:
“I’m very pleased to see these new figures which show that nearly half a million first time buyers have used the Help to Buy scheme. Having a fresh supply of affordable homes in Fareham is essential in ensuring that young talent can stay in the area, and I will continue to work with the Government to ensure that first time buyers and young people who aspire to own their own home have the means to do so.”
Help to Buy has two main schemes. One allows future first-time buyers to take out an Individual Savings Account (ISA) which pays out a government bonus of up to £3,000 towards the cost of a new home. Another scheme, the equity loan, means buyers only need to raise 5 per cent of a property’s value for a deposit and the government will stump up a loan of up to 20 per cent of the property’s value which is interest-free for five years.
Minister of State for Housing, Kit Malthouse MP, said:
“This government is committed to helping more people get on the housing ladder as we power through to delivering 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.
“Our Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme has supported more than 190,000 households in purchasing their home, helping to make the dream of home ownership a reality for a new generation.”
