Help to Buy scheme pays out £674 million to house buyers

23 Feb 2022

The government's Help to Buy scheme has provided £674 million in funding for 604,720 house purchases, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The scheme was launched in 2013 with the introduction of Help to Buy equity loans. Two years later, Help to Buy ISAs were launched and they have since helped fund 460,567 property purchases.

The average bonus value was £1,115 and the highest number of property completions with the support of the scheme has been in the north west, with the lowest numbers in the north east and Northern Ireland.

The ONS report stated that the average value of a property purchased using the ISA in this period was around £175,680 compared to an average first-time buyer house price of £225,607. The median age of a first-time buyer in the scheme is 28 years compared to a national first-time buyer which is 30.

The Help to Buy ISA scheme was available through banks, building societies and credit unions and enabled people saving for their first home to receive a 25% savings bonus from the government when they buy a property of £250,000 or less, with a higher price limit of £450,000 in London.

This meant that for every £200 saved, first-time buyers received a government bonus of £50. The maximum government bonus was £3,000.