Almost 13,000 homebuyers took out interest-free Help to Buy loans in the first nine months that the government’s scheme to kick-start the housing market has been running, figures show, according to the Guardian:
The equity loan scheme, which went live in April, allows first-time buyersand movers to borrow up 20% of the purchase price of a new-buildproperty as long as they can afford a deposit of at least 5%. No interest is paid for the first five years, and it can be paid back on the sale of the property.
The communities and local government department said that by December 12,875 properties had been bought through the scheme – the equivalent of 46 a day – and a further 6,446 sales were in the pipeline.