The counties where first-time buyers most need a Help to Buy loan revealed – how does your area compare?
MORE first-time buyers in London, Greater Manchester and West Midlands have used the Help to Buy equity loan to buy a property than anywhere else in England.
The highest number of buyers relying on the loan were in London, with 12,206 homes bought using the scheme since it launched in 2013, compared to just 187 in the Isle of Wight - the county where potential homeowners are least likely to use the help.
The disheartening stats come as it's revealed that four in 10 Brits wouldn't be able to buy one of the cheapest homes in their area, even with a 10 per cent deposit.
Between April 2013 and March 2018, 169,102 first-time buyers have used the Help to Buy equity loan.
The Government will lend you up to 20 per cent of the property value - up to 40 per cent in London - while you take out a mortgage for the rest of the cost.
It's interest-free for the first five years and allows new homeowners to buy a property with a 5 per cent deposit, but it's been slammed by critics for pushing up house prices by up to £8,250.
Its data showed that around 7,280 homeowners used the Help to Buy loan to buy in Greater Manchester, while 7,074 used it for properties in the West Midlands.
During the same period, up to 6,530 first-time buyers in West Yorkshire turned to the loan - almost half of those who used it in London.
Of course, the data doesn't take into account that house prices in some areas of the UK are simply out of reach for first-time buyers, even with the Government-backed scheme.
For example, 914 properties in the London borough of Barnet were sold to buyers using the loan compared to only two in Kensington and Chelsea and three in the City of London.
The research is a reflection of the depressing state of the housing market for first-time buyers, where house prices have drastically risen against stagnant wages.
The Help to Buy loan has been criticised by some brokers who predict that thousands of first-time buyers who use the scheme face being trapped by a lack of choice when it comes to taking out a new deal.
The Government is allegedly planning to scrap the popular flagship 'Help to Buy' scheme over fears it only helps the rich.
Ministers are planning to replace the scheme with a new system after this current arrangement expires in 2021.
Latest figures from Hometrack suggest that first-time buyers need an income of at least £53,000 for a home in Britain's 20 biggest cities.
The sum is up by £8,000 — 18 per cent — in three years due to sharp house price growth.
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