Third ‘Help to Buy Barometer’ unveiled by Linden Homes
Just as the latest figures from DCLG on the Help to Buy equity loan scheme have been announced, housebuilder Linden Homes has also unveiled the data from its latest Help to Buy Barometer1 . Tracking all Help to Buy purchases across the country during the last quarter (April – June 2016), this barometer now in its third iteration, mirrors the national picture as highlighted in the DCLG report.
According to DCLG, since the scheme launched, 81,014 properties have been purchased nationally using the Help to Buy scheme, and for award-winning housebuilder Linden Homes, it now makes up 30 per cent of its sales. This is consistent with the previous quarter, revealing that a third of people rely on the scheme to make a house purchase possible.
Although the scheme is applicable to properties up to the value of £600,000, the data from Linden Homes’ Barometer demonstrates that the price of properties bought using the scheme has lowered since the last quarter to £287,055 from £379,588 the previous quarter.
During the last quarter, the scheme has demonstrably helped Linden Homes’ first-time buyers in particular, with those getting on the ladder making up 69% of the total Help to Buy purchases. During the last quarter Linden Homes’ Western region saw the highest proportion of first-time buyers using Help to Buy with a huge 81 per cent of those using the scheme to buy their first ever home. The lowest proportion of first-time buyers was in the Linden Homes South region, with only 37 per cent first-time purchasers using the Government-backed scheme over the last quarter.
For the third quarter running, the Midlands region at Linden Homes has seen the highest volume of Help to Buy sales across the Linden Homes group, with the scheme accounting for over half (52 per cent) of all sales for that area – up 1 per cent the previous quarter.
The Western region saw the highest level of Help to Buy sales relative to overall sales (55 per cent), followed closely by the Midlands region and the South West region, with Help to Buy accounting for 52 and 34 per cent of sales during the last quarter respectively.
The two most popular developments for the third quarter in succession across the group for Linden Homes were Nash Mills Wharf in Hertfordshire and Linden Park in Bristol. A new entry this quarter as the third most popular scheme on Help to Buy, was Kaleidoscope in Dunstable, Bedfordshire with Edge in Harlow, Essex following close behind.
Tom Nicholson, divisional managing director at Linden Homes commented on the results from the third barometer: “Our regular study into Help to Buy is already starting to highlight some trends which allows us to monitor the effectiveness of the scheme and specifically identify who it is helping. What really stands out from the latest data is the assistance it is providing to those at the lower end of the market – with the average house price really coming down compared to the previous quarter. What’s also encouraging to see is use of the scheme by those buying their first new home. It will be interesting to see what the next quarter holds and if these trends continue, or if we start to see those looking for their next home come into the market and utilise the Government funds still available.”
To see how much you can afford with the scheme check out Linden Homes’ Help to Buy calculator at lindenhomes.co.uk/helptobuy where you can also view applicable developments near you.
Help to Buy is available across a number of Linden Homes developments including Edge in Harlow, Nash Mills Wharf in Hemel Hempstead, Oaklands in Horsham and Portfolio in Great Denham.
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Media can contact Emma Cox or Kelly Ward at Remarkable Content on 01962 893893 for more information, images and interviews with Linden Homes.
1 Help to Buy Barometer reviewed all legally completed purchases of Linden Homes properties since the Help to Buy scheme launched in April 2013 up until Thursday 30 June 2016 with quarterly figures representing April – June 2016.
