A young farmer from Leicestershire has become the
300,000th homeowner to use the Help to Buy: Equity Loan Scheme
since its launch in 2013.
Sam Legg, 19, from Asfordby, bought the 300,000th Help to Buy
home and is now urging others to join the government scheme.
The official Help to Buy
statistics released today (13 May 2021) reveal:
- 313,043 households have now bought a home with the support of
the Help to Buy: Equity Loan Scheme since its launch in 2013
- In the 3 months up to December 2020, there were 21,026
completions, the highest quarterly annual total ever and 40%
higher than the same period in 2019
- Most of the home purchases in the Help to Buy: Equity Loan
scheme were made by first-time buyers, accounting for 257,520
(82%) of total purchases
Housing Secretary Rt Hon MP said:
Helping people get a foot on the housing ladder is central to
the mission of this government.
Today’s figures show over 300,000 homes have been sold through
our Help to Buy scheme which hugely benefits first time buyers.
Alongside other measures such as the stamp duty cut and new
mortgage guarantee scheme, Help to Buy will continue to help
more and more people to have a home that is truly their own.
Chair of Homes England Peter Freeman said:
Today’s milestone underlines how successful the scheme has been
in helping people buy their own home. With the original Help to
Buy scheme, and the new scheme aimed specifically at first time
buyers, we look forward to helping more people like Sam achieve
their dream of home ownership.
Sam Legg is Help to Buy’s 300,000th customer having recently
bought his first home in Asfordby, Leicestershire living with his
girlfriend Megan and dog Del Boy.
Sam, who works as a farmer locally, said:
I am very happy to have bought my first home which would not
have been possible without Help to Buy. The whole process went
very smoothly, and I hope many more people can be helped to buy
their first home in the same way.
The new Help to Buy: Equity Loan for first time buyers started on
1 April and will continue to increase the supply of new homes
over the next two years and help thousands more people own their
home.
The government recently announced a further two-month extension
for Help to Buy customers following delays caused by the
pandemic. The extension will run to 31 May, allowing homebuilders
to complete the build and buyers to legally complete their
purchase.
Purchasers can borrow up to 20% of the cost of a new build (40%
in London), funding the balance via a mortgage and repaying the
loan when they sell.
