2,418 families in Croydon have been able to realise their dream of home ownership thanks to the government’s help to buy schemes, new figures out on 30 April 2019 show.
Through the Conservative government’s Help to Buy schemes, more than 400,000 families have gotten a foot on the housing ladder since 2010.
Families across the country are benefitting from the schemes with more than 84 per cent of completions using the Help to Buy ISA taking place outside of London.
Help to Buy has two main schemes. One 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. This scheme has helped 988 families in Croydon buy their home.
Another Help to Buy scheme 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. In Croydon the Conservative Government have helped 1,430 families to buy a home.
And in more good news for first-time buyers, 288,300 people have been able to achieve their dream of ownership thanks to our stamp duty reforms, new statistics show. First time buyers have saved £680 million following changes announced by the Chancellor in the Budget 2017. The reforms mean 8 out 10 first time buyers now pay no stamp duty at all – benefitting almost all first-time buyers and providing the security that comes with a home.
Mario Creatura, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Croydon Central, said:
‘This is fantastic news for over 2,400 families in Croydon who have been able to get the security of their own home through the Conservative Government’s Help to Buy schemes.
‘It is the Conservatives that are helping first-time buyers in Croydon by cutting stamp duty so more young people get the keys for their first home’
‘Home ownership is no longer a pipe dream for the few as these figures show and it’s proof that the Conservatives are helping more people to get on the housing ladder and have a safe and secure home’.
Stamp duty cut
- First time buyers’ relief was introduced in November 2017 and means homes bought for less than £300,000 pay no stamp duty at all and homes bought for between £300,000 to £500,000 pay 5 per cent stamp duty on the portion over £300,000 total (HMRC, Quarterly Stamp Duty Land Tax Statistics April 2019 edition, 30 April 2019, link).
- Since the Chancellor’s reforms 288,300 first-time buyers have claimed since stamp duty relief to purchase their home, saving them £680 million in total (HMRC, Quarterly Stamp Duty Land Tax Statistics April 2019 edition, 30 April 2019, link).
Help to Buy ISA
- The scheme enables people saving for their first home to receive a 25 per cent boost to their savings from the Government when they buy a property of £250,000 or less (with a higher price limit of £450,000 in London). This means that for every £200 saved, first-time buyers can receive a government bonus of £50. The maximum government bonus is £3,000 (HM Treasury, Help to Buy: ISA Scheme Quarterly Statistics: December 2015 to 31 December 2018, 30 April 2019, link).
- From Bournemouth to Bury, Help to Buy is enabling more families gain a place to call their own. 84 per cent of property completions using the Help to Buy ISA were outside London and the South East with the scheme having the biggest impact in the North West and Yorkshire and The Humber (HM Treasury, Help to Buy: ISA Scheme Quarterly Statistics: December 2015 to 31 December 2018, 30 April 2019, link).
- 286,604 bonuses worth £258 million have been paid out to first-time buyers to buy 218,371 properties. The bonuses are worth up to £3,000 on a first- property and it supported 218,371 property completions – the reason why bonuses outnumber completion is because couples can both take out their bonuses to buy their home (HM Treasury, Help to Buy: ISA Scheme Quarterly Statistics: December 2015 to 31 December 2018, 30 April 2019, link).
- Homes purchased under Help to Buy are cheaper than the average for first-time buyers and the UK average. The average house price under the scheme is £173,627, which is below both the average first-time buyer house price of £194,237 and the UK average house price of £230,776 (HM Treasury, Help to Buy: ISA Scheme Quarterly Statistics: December 2015 to 31 December 2018, 30 April 2019, link).
Help to Buy Equity Loan
- The Help to Buy Equity Loan can be used to buy a new build home worth up to £600,000, with a maximum loan of £120,000 (20 per cent) and £240,000 (40 per cent), in London. The maximum equity loan is this means the buyer only needs to provide a 5 per cent deposit (MHCLG, Help to Buy (equity loan scheme) statistics: April 2013 to 31 December 2018, 30 April 2019, link).
- Under the Conservatives the loan has helped 210,964 families buy a place to call their own. Over the period since the launch of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme (1 April 2013 to 31 December 2018), 210,964 properties were bought with an equity loan (MHCLG, Help to Buy (equity loan scheme) statistics: April 2013 to 31 December 2018, 30 April 2019, link).
- The vast majority of those benefitting from the scheme are first-time buyers. Most of the home purchases in the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme were made by First Time Buyers, accounting for 171,053 (81 per cent) of total purchases (MHCLG, Help to Buy (equity loan scheme) statistics: April 2013 to 31 December 2018, 30 April 2019, link).
- There has been a dramatic rise of nearly 40 per cent in property sales using the Help to Buy Equity Loan on the last quarter showing how popular the scheme is. New statistics show that sales have increased by 39 per cent compared with the previous quarter and increased by 12 per cent compared with the same quarter last year (MHCLG, Help to Buy (equity loan scheme) statistics: April 2013 to 31 December 2018, 30 April 2019, link).
Photo by Christian Stahl on Unsplash
