As the sector continues to question the lack of meaningful housebuilding incentives, MHCLG has recently published a review of the Help to Buy scheme, concluding that it delivered ‘very high value for money’ while having a positive impact on housing supply in England. Here, we consider the response from the National Federation of Builders, which argues the imperative for a new equivalent.
NFB CEO Richard Beresford commented: “This is the first period in some time where we do not have a government backed lending scheme for housebuyers. Despite the critics, Help to Buy was incredibly successful for the taxpayer, buyers, and housebuilders and to help solve the housing crisis. Its return is much needed, not just to help satisfy housing demand but it will also provide much needed confidence and competition in the mortgage market.”
The Help to Buy scheme was designed to support first-time buyers in purchasing new homes with a 5% deposit option and an equity loan of up to 20% of the property’s value, interest-free for the first five years. The scheme closed to new applicants in 2022 due to financial and administrative challenges and concerns that the scheme was inflating property values.
However, the Government’s recent report found that the scheme helped more than 328,000 first-time buyers purchase a home and increased housing supply by 15% over the course of the scheme due to greater market confidence amongst developers. And according to the review, Help to Buy generated an estimated £25.1 billion in net present social value, driven primarily by the scheme’s contribution to increasing housing supply.
The NFB also notes that this estimate excludes the effects of house-price changes and does not monetise potential additional benefits such as construction jobs, improved wellbeing, or environmental gains from newer homes.
Rico Wojtulewicz, NFB Director of Policy and Market Insight, continued: “37% of buyers said they could not have bought a property without the support of Help to Buy. A fifth of first-time buyer purchases in England used it and with new build making up only 10% of sales, it was not the mechanism for price rises as some critics would have us believe – houses price rises are down to a lack of supply.
“It may have pushed up the price of flats, but this is due to the lack of supply and massive demand. Prices set by the market and lenders were extremely competitive during the Help to Buy period, with interest rates dropping below 2%.”
Rico added: “Help to Buy, or something like it must return and if the Government fears unintended consequences, it could introduce it in stages, perhaps on smaller sites, only for houses or by setting qualifying criteria, such as those with low savings, experiencing overcrowding or having local connections.”
