Just under 5,000 new properties have been bought under the Help to Buy scheme in Wales.
The Help to Buy equity loan and Help to Buy ISA continue to be top choices for buyers looking to take their first step onto the property ladder, especially given the mortgage guarantee scheme has come to an end.
Recently released by the Welsh Government, the latest Help to Buy Scheme Transactions Record contains extensive data on the scheme and its use within Wales. Equipped with in-depth knowledge of the scheme, Co-founding Director of Howells Solicitors, Philip Howell, has analysed these figures in order to provide a fuller picture of how the Help to Buy scheme has been used by those buying for the first time.
In Wales, Newport and Flintshire are the most popular Help to Buy locations, with 848 and 577 respective purchases being made under the scheme to date.
In Cardiff, Wales’ capital city, 104 homes have been purchased with the help of the scheme.
The locations with the lowest Help to Buy uptake have been in Ceredigion, the Isle of Anglesey and Blaenau Gwent.
Homes with three bedrooms are the most common type of property to be bought using the Help to Buy scheme, currently standing at 2,415. In second place are four bedroom homes, with 1,505 having been bought under the scheme so far.
In contrast, the type of home least likely to be bought using Help to Buy are those with one bedroom, at a total of just 92 to date.
To date, Wales has seen 4,797 homes purchased using the Help to Buy scheme.
Mr Howells commented on the scheme’s popularity, as well as the choice it provides first-time buyers with when trying to fund their home.
“The financial assistance provided by the scheme has enabled first-time buyers to enter the housing market at a time when lending criteria had been significantly tightened following changes to legislation regarding the financial services industry.
The scheme has been very successful and well received by home buyers and those involved in the house buying industry. It provided a much-needed boost at the right time.
Help to Buy ISA and Help to Buy equity loans are now providing other options for first-time buyers and with another product, the Lifetime ISA being launched just last month, this continued financial assistance will be of benefit.”
