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Wiltshire is top location for Help to Buy

Adam Williams
Written By:
Adam Williams
Posted:
Updated:
09/03/2017

More Help to Buy equity loan mortgages have been completed in Wiltshire than anywhere else in the UK.

New figures released by the Department for Communities and Local Government showed 757 properties were sold in Wiltshire between the scheme’s launch in March 2013 and January 2015.

Across the whole of England a total of 42,753 properties were purchased with the support of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme.

The equity loan allows borrowers with a 5% deposit to get onto the housing ladder with government providing a loan worth 20% of the property’s cost, which is supplemented by a traditional mortgage lender.

The majority of sales (83%) were to first-time buyers and the average purchase price was £212,354.

Leeds was the area with the second highest number of completions as 695 properties were sold in the Yorkshire city.

Central Bedfordshire (668), Milton Keynes (581) and Peterborough (580) completed the top five.

Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “A fusion of economic factors is alleviating some of the financial burden of forming a deposit. Wages are starting to recover and inflation has fallen to a record low, meaning buyers have slightly more cash to play with day-to-day.

“And stamp duty fees were slashed for many new buyers when the government reformed the old slab system, freeing up further funds. It’s still difficult to save – with savings rates tied closely to the low base rate. But it’s easier to put cash aside than it was a year ago.

“However, property prices have pushed a new record for first-time buyers, meaning these extra funds are being diverted directly into larger deposits. Putting together a deposit to buy a property remains one of the most arduous tasks for prospective home-buyers, and schemes like Help to Buy are essential to allow the swathes of buyers reliant on higher LTV mortgages to get onto the housing ladder.”


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