This is, Whathouse believes, a sign that concerns over the new Help to Buy scheme - which came into effect 1 April 2021 - and potential lack of affordability are not playing out. This provides reassurance to first-time buyers now able to benefit from the scheme, with many having made the most of lockdown to save the 5% deposit required to get onto the property ladder.
Some areas, particularly those with lower overall prices and less room for manoeuvre in pricing new builds, are seeing average HTB prices much closer to the regional cap - the closest is the North East, where the cap for Help to Buy prices is £186,100 and the average price of actual new build homes on the Help to Buy scheme is £161,239. London, on the other hand, has the highest price cap for Help to Buy (£600,000) reflecting the higher cost of property in the area overall - and the average price of Help to Buy new builds in the capital is £448,279.
Daniel Hill, Managing Director, WhatHouse? comments:
“Many would-be first-time buyers have had time to knuckle down with saving for a house deposit. The help-to-buy scheme’s requirement of 5% deposit seems to be making all the difference, and we’re seeing high-volumes of first-time buyer searches as home ownership becomes attainable.”
Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman, House Builders Federation said:
“Even with a lower proportion of homes being purchased with Help to Buy, builders in all price brackets are reporting very high levels of interest from consumers, demonstrating confidence in the product and the industry with consumers increasingly recognising the benefits of new homes over older properties.”
