Michael Gove has welcomed new figures showing that the Conservatives’ Help to Buy scheme is helping families to achieve their dream of buying their own home.
In total 70 people have been able to access an affordable mortgage and get on the housing ladder in Surrey Heath.
Across the UK, Help to Buy has helped over 73,000 families buy their own home – with over 80 per cent of sales going to first-time buyers. This comes in the same week as the Halifax revealed that over 325,000 first-time buyers brought their own home in 2014, up 22 per cent on 2013 and the highest number since 2007.
Help to Buy is benefiting all parts of the country with cities like Birmingham, Peterborough and Leeds seeing amongst the highest sales. The scheme is also giving developers the confidence they need to build, with housebuilding now at its highest level since 2007.
Despite this Labour want to cut back and restrict Help to Buy – which would make it harder for people to access an affordable mortgage and get on the housing ladder.
Michael said:
‘Labour’s Great Recession brought chaos to the housing market and meant the prospect of buying a home was nothing more than a pipe dream for thousands of hardworking taxpayers.
‘That’s why the Conservatives, as part of our long-term economic plan, launched Help to Buy which has so far helped 70 families in Surrey Heath buy their own home and is playing a major part in increasing the number of new homes being built. This means 70 more families able to achieve their dream of homeownership and enjoy the security and peace of mind that comes with that.
‘Help to Buy is a key part of our long-term economic plan that is helping people to buy their own home and enjoy greater financial security. Labour would put all this at risk by cutting back Help to Buy, making it harder for people to get on the housing ladder.'