Almost half of all postcode districts in England are yet to see any mortgage completions under the Help to Buy scheme, despite there being in excess of 400,000 eligible homes currently available across the UK.
Analysis of Treasury housing data by TotallyMoney.com revealed that two years after chancellor George Osborne launched the scheme, 1,261 districts out of a 2,117 total have yet to feel any benefit from either the equity loan or mortgage guarantee version.
Mortgages on 52,691 homes in England have completed as a result of Help to Buy as at the end of February, but 42 per cent of postcodes have yet to see any Help to Buy mortgage completions.
Leicester is England’s number one Help to Buy city, with 892 completions, while MK42 in Bedford is the top Help to Buy postcode, with 309 completions,
The initial scheme offered first-time buyers easier access to new builds, giving five-year interest-free government loans up to 20 per cent of the property value, with interest then charged at 1.75 per cent.
The second phase of the scheme offered mortgage providers more incentive to lend higher loan-to-value mortgages.
Access to government guarantees on these loans allowed lenders to give both first-time buyers and existing home owners mortgages deposits as low as 5 per cent on new builds and older properties.
peter.walker@ft.com
