The £170 million Help to Buy – Wales scheme, which makes home-ownership easier for people who have struggled to secure large cash deposits, has enabled 1,200 people buy their home and has received the backing of over 160 builders.
Setting out the Welsh Government’s intention to extend the scheme beyond 31 March 2016, communities and tackling poverty minister, Lesley Griffiths said: “We want Wales to be a nation where everyone has access to a high quality, safe and affordable home and have been working with the construction industry to increase the supply of new homes in Wales.
Over the past year, Help to Buy - Wales has become an important factor in stimulating the construction of new market housing in Wales through the support it offers to people purchasing those homes.
In order to build on this success, I am today setting out the Welsh Government’s intention to extend the Help to Buy – Wales scheme beyond 31 March 2016. Earlier this year I met Leighton and Siân Steggles at their new home in Caerphilly, which they purchased with assistance from Help to Buy – Wales. It was wonderful to see how Welsh Government support is having such a positive impact on people’s lives.
As well as helping people buy a new home, the scheme has also proved to be great news for the industry, with builders of all sizes across the country now offering Help to Buy – Wales shared equity loans on their properties.”
Mark Harris, the planning & policy advisor at the Home Builders’ Federation, said: “The biggest constraint on housing supply in Wales in recent years has been people’s inability to buy as they couldn’t afford the deposit required to secure a mortgage. The Help to Buy – Wales scheme has given a tremendous boost to homebuyers by allowing them to buy with a 5 per cent deposit. A commitment to extend the scheme is thus very welcome and we look forward to seeing the detail as soon as is possible.
The increased level of demand created by the scheme is allowing builders to increase house building activity in Wales. This will deliver desperately needed homes and boost the Welsh economy, creating jobs on construction sites and in the supply chain across Wales.”
