A Wales-wide £170 million Help to Buy scheme has been welcomed by a top builder and by a leading North Wales estate agent.
Award-winning Anwyl Construction, North Wales’s largest private home builder and long-established estate agents Jones Peckover have both given the new scheme the thumbs up.
It was announced this week by Welsh Government Housing Minister Carl Sargeant and aims to help first time buyers in Wales get on the property ladder.
It is targeted at new build homes under £300,000 and from January 2 buyers with a five per cent deposit will able to apply for an initial interest-free loan of up to 20 per cent of the property value from the Welsh Government.
Help to Buy Wales mirrors a similar scheme that has been operating in England since April and Mathew Anwyl, Director of Rhyl-based Anwyl Construction, said: “The scheme that was launched in England in April has made a massive difference to the housing market there.
“I am sure it would have a similar effect here where the number of completions on new homes has decreased over the last 12 months.
“We have been hoping the Welsh Government would follow suit and I’m delighted that they have done so and it should stimulate the market and encourage growth which in turn will create much-needed employment.
“This is a very positive step and with a limit of £300,000 on the value of a home it is more particularly targeted at first-time buyers to help them onto the property ladder.
“We know there is a demand out there for new houses but people have had difficulty obtaining mortgage approval but with Welsh Government backing the process will be made easier.”
In the first six months since the scheme launched in England in April there have been 5,375 new homes bought through Help To Buy, 92 per cent of them first-time buyers, and the Council of Mortgage Lenders has attributed the start of a housing market recovery to the greater mortgage availability caused by government intervention in the market.
Tom Daulby, a partner in estate agents Jones Peckover who have offices across North Wales, also welcomed the introduction of the scheme in Wales and he said: “It should certainly have a similarly positive effect on the housing market here.
“The fact of the matter is that there are many people out there who can afford mortgages but can’t afford the deposit necessary.
“If a house price of £200,000 requires a 20 per cent deposit then that’s £40,000 and with income levels having remained static in recent years people, especially young people, have found it difficult to save enough money.
“The houses themselves are affordable but the deposits haven’t been and this scheme addresses that and should stabilise the market and provide a level playing field.
“Once there is some momentum in the housing market it should have a knock-on effect and help provide an engine for jobs, particularly in the building industry, and growth.”
