The number of completions through the Help to Buy equity loan scheme rocketed in the last quarter of 2013 after official figures revealed that more people completed in that period than in the first six months of the scheme.

Between the scheme’s launch, in April, and the end of December last year, there had been 12,875 completions through the scheme. At the end of September, 5,375 sales had completed under the scheme, meaning some 7,500 people completed under the scheme in the final three months of 2013.
Figures released by the Department for Communities and Local Government today show there are also 6,446 “scheduled-out” sales, which are potential completions where the borrower has reserved a property by the Government has not yet advanced the equity loan.
The top five local authorities by completions in the first nine months of the scheme were Leeds, Wiltshire unitary authority, Central Bedfordshire unitary authority, Milton Keynes unitary authority and Manchester with 230, 224, 197, 195 and 169 completions respectively.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister David Cameron revealed that over 6,000 people had applied for a mortgage through the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, which is commonly known as Help to Buy 2. Help to Buy was the flagship policy of last year’s Budget and aims to boost the availability of 95% loan to value mortgages.
The scheme works in two parts; the first part came into effect in April as a shared equity scheme for new build homes. The second part, a £130bn mortgage indemnity scheme, which was first revealed by Mortgage Strategy in February, came into force in November for all properties worth up to £600,000.
Last week, the Bank of England was forced to deny it wanted the Treasury to lower the maximum loan available through the scheme after BBC business editor Robert Peston claimed it wanted it scaled back to under £400,000.