Introduction
2
Help to Buy (Equity
Loan scheme) 2
Accompanying tables
14
Definitions
14
Technical notes
18
Enquiries
25
Housing
Statistical Release
28 November 2019
Responsible Statistician:
Alexandra Turner
Statistical enquiries:
Office hours:
0303 444 6420
housing.statistics@communities.gov.uk
Media enquiries:
0303 444 1209
newsdesk@communities.gov.uk
Date of next publication:
February/March 2020
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme)
Data to 30 June 2019,
England
• Over the period since the launch of the Help to Buy:
Equity Loan scheme (1 April 2013 to 30 June 2019),
236,313 properties were bought with an equity loan.
• The total value of these equity loans was £13.46 billion,
with the value of the properties sold under the scheme
totalling £62.04 billion.
• Most of the home purchases in the Help to Buy: Equity
Loan scheme were made by
First Time Buyers,
accounting for 192,212 (81 per cent) of total purchases.
• The mean purchase price of a property bought under the
scheme was £262,522, with buyers using a mean equity
loan of £56,951.
• In London, the maximum equity loan was increased from
20% to 40% from February 2016, and since then to 30
June 2019, there were 15,623 completions in London, of
which 13,526 were made with an equity loan higher than
20%.
2
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Introduction
This Statistical Release presents Official Statistics on the number of home purchases and the
value of equity loans under the Government’s Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme. The figures
presented in this release cover the period from the launch of the scheme on 1 April 2013 to 30
June 2019.
Further policy information on the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme can be found at:
http://www.gov.uk/affordable-home-ownership-schemes/help-to-buy-equity-loans
This release does not cover statistics on Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme as the scheme closed to
new mortgage offers on 8 March 2015 with all transactions completed by 8 September 2015.
Further policy information on the Help to Buy: NewBuy Guarantee scheme can be found at:
http://www.gov.uk/government/policies/increasing-the-number-of-available-homes/supporting-
pages/newbuy-guarantee-scheme
This release does not cover statistics regarding the Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee scheme,
which operated for the whole of the UK and closed to new loans on 31 December 2016. More
information on Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee can be found here:
http://www.gov.uk/affordable-home-ownership-schemes/help-to-buy-mortgage-guarantees.
Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme
Quarterly figures
Statistics for Help to Buy: Equity Loan are based on legal completion dates for transactions under
the scheme as operated in England. The quarterly figures presented in Table 1 below cover the
period from the launch of the scheme on 1 April 2013 to 30 June 2019. Monthly figures are also
provided and can be found in the Accompanying Tables section of the release.
Table 1 presents the total number of home purchases completed under the Help To Buy: Equity
Loan scheme since its launch date. Between April 2013 and 30 June 2019, 236,313 properties
were sold through Help to Buy: Equity Loan, using a total value of equity loans of £13.46 billion.
These equity loans supported the purchase of £62.04 billion worth of property.
Table 2 presents the quarterly number of properties bought by First Time Buyers under Help to
Buy since the launch of the scheme in April 2013. Between April 2013 and 30 June 2019, First
Time Buyers accounted for 81 per cent of total home purchases. 192,212 properties were bought
by First Time Buyers through Help to Buy: Equity Loan using a total value of equity loans of
£10.78 billion. The overall value of properties sold to First Time Buyers total £48.75 billion.
3
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Annual figures
Figure 1 presents the total number of home purchases completed under the Help to Buy: Equity
Loan scheme, for the year ending 30 June 2014 to the year ending 30 June 2019. These figures
are sourced from accompanying tables 1 and 1b (see note on page 14).
Figure 1: Help to Buy: Equity Loan. Number of legal completions for England (Total and of
which First Time Buyers) and London (Total), year ending 30 June 2014 to year ending 30
June 2019.
For England, home purchases completed under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme totalled
52,268 in the year to 30 June 2019, up by 6 per cent compared with the year to June 2018 (49,362
completions). First Time Buyers bought 43,285 properties under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan
scheme in the year to 30 June 2019, up by 8 per cent compared with the year to June 2018
(40,228 completions).
For London, home purchases completed under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme totalled
6,149 in the year to 30 June 2019, up by 26 per cent on the year to 30 June 2018 (4,882
completions). First Time Buyers bought 5,865 properties under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan
scheme in the year to 30 June 2019, up by 27 per cent compared with the year to 30 June 2018
(4,629 completions).
4
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Table 1: Number of legal completions, and value of equity loans (£m), England
Completions
1
Value of Equity Loans (£m)
at completion
2
Total value of
properties sold (£m)
3
2013
14,023
566.15
2,840.37
Q2
2,103
78.09
391.35
Q3
3,944
156.24
784.31
Q4
7,976
331.82
1,664.70
2014
28,376
1,226.04
6,160.42
Q1 5,581 235.21 1,181.89
Q2 8,775 380.81 1,913.72
Q3
5,846
252.67
1,269.99
Q4
8,174
357.36
1,794.82
2015
31,827
1,469.26
7,399.13
Q1 4,929 215.84 1,085.28
Q2 9,355 429.76 2,163.86
Q3 6,898 319.26 1,608.46
Q4
10,645
504.4
2,541.54
2016
38,382
2,094.07
9,889.48
Q1 (R)
6,787
329.1
1,652.16
Q2 10,814 583.66 2,787.65
Q3 8,542 474.03 2,210.02
Q4 12,239 707.29 3,239.65
2017
46,298
2,911.40
12,994.87
Q1
8,212
504.31
2,226.81
Q2
13,863
870.67
3,884.48
Q3 10,233 659.66 2,921.47
Q4 (R) 13,990 876.76 3,962.11
2018
52,132
3,446.56
15,215.29
Q1
10,095
660.16
2,912.03
Q2
15,044
974.31
4,351.15
Q3 (R)
11,273
770.93
3,370.23
Q4 (R) 15,720 1,041.15 4,581.88
2019
25,275
1744.75
7,537.85
Q1 (P) 10,406 744.48 3,125.57
Q2 (P)
14,869
1000.27
4412.28
Total
236,313 13,458.21 62,037.41
(R) – revised since the last statistical release to reflect more up-to-date information.
(P) – provisional and subject to revision
1. Completions of legacy FirstBuy transactions that occurred after 1 April 2013 are not included in these statistics. For
the reporting period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014, there were 957 legacy FirstBuy completions for a total value of
Government equity loan of £13m.
2. The value of equity loans are based on the purchase price of the property, up to 20 per cent of the property’s value
at point of sale (40% in Greater London). The remaining balance of the purchase must be financed by a purchaser
deposit and a conventional mortgage. The value is shown in £million and rounded to 2 decimal places.
3. Value of properties sold is equal to the sum of the purchase prices at point of legal completion.
5
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Table 2: Number of legal completions, and value of equity loans (£m) for First Time Buyers, England
Completions
1
Value of Equity Loans
(£m) at completion
2
Value of
properties sold (£m)
3
2013 12,467 485.26 2,432.95
Q2 2,004 73.17 366.72
Q3 3,564 136.69 685.73
Q4 6,899 275.4 1,380.51
2014 22,618 928.64 4,663.82
Q1
4,645
185.69
932.95
Q2 6,943 285.18 1,431.85
Q3 4,588 188.69 947.93
Q4 6,442 269.08 1,351.09
2015 25,069 1,105.06 5,561.54
Q1 3,841 159.07 800.00
Q2
7,383
323.79
1,628.47
Q3 5,440 240.77 1,212.06
Q4 8,405 381.42 1,921.00
2016 30,672 1,639.92 7,616.55
Q1 (R) 5,319 246.11 1,233.47
Q2 8,591 453.51 2,133.04
Q3 6,792 369.92 1,692.55
Q4 9,970 570.39 2,557.50
2017
37,476 2,338.65 10,191.49
Q1 6,695 409.95 1,761.38
Q2 (R) 11,178 698.11 3,036.22
Q3 8,235 527.43 2,281.12
Q4 (R)
11,368
703.17
3,112.77
2018 42,785 2,815.42 12,130.35
Q1 8,265 537.24 2,315.52
Q2 12,360 797.09 3,470.67
Q3
9,151
625.61 2,659.20
Q4 (R)
13,009
855.49 3,684.97
2019
21,125
1462.82
6,157.14
Q1 (P)
8,745
631.8 2,577.78
Q2 (P)
12,380
831.02 3579.36
Total
192,212
10,775.77
48,753.85
See notes under Table 1
6
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Sub-national trends
Help to Buy: Equity Loan in London
Since the launch of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, on 1 April 2013 to 30 June 2019, 19,850
properties were bought with an equity loan, in London.
Starting 1 February 2016 Help to Buy applicants were able to claim an equity loan up to 40% of
purchase price for properties in Greater London. Since then, to 30 June 2019, a total number of
15,623 properties were purchased in London (in 33 districts). First time buyers accounted for 95
per cent (14,907) of these purchases. Of the London home purchases completed between
February 2016 and June 2019, 11,783 (75 per cent) were made with an equity loan of exactly 40%
of the purchase price, suggesting that most Londoners used the full 40% equity loan available to
them. In the same period, 1,767 properties were bought with an equity loan of 20% of the property
purchase price and 1,760 with an equity loan ranging between 20% and 40% of the property
purchase price. Only 2% (313) of the homes acquired between February 2016 and June 2019
were bought using an equity loan less than 20% of the value of the property at point of sale.
Map 1: Estimated cumulative value of Help to Buy: Equity Loans by Local Authority, 1 April
2013 to 30 June 2019
This map shows the total value of equity
loans by local authority area (dark
shaded areas denote higher value of
equity loans in a local authority).
Tables showing the number and value of
loans on a quarterly basis
by local
authority area for 1) all completions and
2) for first time buyers only, accompany
this release (Table 1 and Table 1b), and
can be found on MHCLG’s website.
7
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Purchase price
The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme can be used to purchase a new build property up to the
value of £600,000, with a maximum equity loan of £120,000 (20 per cent). In Greater London, the
maximum equity loan is £240,000 (40 per cent).
Table 3 shows the number of homes purchased under Help to Buy: Equity Loan to 30 June 2019
by purchase price. More than a third (36 per cent) of Help to Buy: Equity Loan completions were
for homes worth £200,000 or less. About 45 per cent of properties acquired through the scheme
had a purchase price ranging between £200,001- £350,000 and only 19 per cent had a purchase
price greater than £350,000. Overall, 56 per cent of the homes purchased to 30 June 2019 had a
price of £250,000 or less, indicating that there are proportionately more buyers in the lower price
ranges.
The price of properties acquired by First Time Buyers through Help to Buy: Equity Loan follows the
same pattern, with 60 per cent of properties having a value at the point of sale of £250,000 or less.
Table 3: Cumulative number of legal completions to 30 June 2019, by purchase price,
England
1
Purchase Price
1
Cumulative
completions
(First Time Buyers)
Percentage of
completions (First Time
Buyers)
Cumulative
completions
(all)
Percentage of
completions
(all)
£0 – £125,000
11,677
12,310
£125,001 - £150,000
17,471
18,796
£150,001 - £200,000
47,526
53,674
£200,001 - £250,000
38,038
46,427
£250,001 - £350,000
45,095
60,323
£350,001 - £500,000
24,504
34,512
£500,001 - £600,000
7,901
10,271
All properties
192,212
236,313
1. Purchases under Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme are subject to Stamp Duty Land Tax on the same basis as other
residential dwellings. The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme has a property price cap of £600,000.
The quarterly mean (average) purchase prices of homes bought under the scheme are shown in
Table 4. The mean purchase price of all properties acquired through Help to Buy: Equity Loan in
England between April 2013 and June 2019 was £262,522. There is a difference in the mean
purchase prices of properties sold to first time buyers and non-first time buyers; with non-first time
buyers being able to afford, on average, higher priced properties.
The median purchase price of all properties acquired through Help to Buy: Equity Loan in England
between April 2013 and June 2019 was £239,950, that of properties acquired by First Time Buyers
was £227,953 and that of properties acquired by Non-First Time Buyers was £284,950.
In England, the mean purchase prices of properties acquired through the scheme are higher than
6%
9%
25%
20%
23%
13%
4%
5%
8%
23%
20%
26%
15%
4%
8
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
the corresponding median purchase prices, indicating that across both types of buyers there have
been fewer sales in the higher price ranges.
Table 4: Average purchase price of property sold under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by
quarter, to 30 June 2019, England
Mean purchase price
Median purchase price
First Time
Buyers
Non-First
Time Buyers
All
First Time
Buyers
Non-First
Time Buyers
All
2013
£195,152
£261,837
£202,551
£178,000
£245,000
£183,995
Q2
£182,994 £248,834 £186,093 £169,995 £234,995 £170,000
Q3
£192,404 £259,437 £198,863 £175,000 £242,000 £179,995
Q4
£200,102 £263,878 £208,714 £180,995 £247,950 £189,950
2014
£206,200
£259,916
£217,100
£185,000
£242,995
£195,000
Q1
£200,851 £265,963 £211,771 £180,500 £245,000 £190,000
Q2
£206,229 £263,029 £218,087 £185,000 £244,995 £196,000
Q3
£206,611 £256,005 £217,240 £185,950 £239,995 £195,000
Q4
£209,732 £256,195 £219,577 £189,950 £239,995 £199,950
2015
£221,849
£271,914
£232,480
£199,950
£257,725
£210,950
Q1
£208,279 £262,203 £220,182 £189,950 £247,500 £199,950
Q2
£220,571 £271,494 £231,305 £197,995 £256,248 £210,000
Q3
£222,806 £271,874 £233,177 £199,995 £259,950 £211,500
Q4
£228,554 £277,026 £238,754 £205,995 £261,495 £219,950
2016
£248,323 £294,802 £257,659 £220,250 £279,995 £234,995
Q1
£231,899 £285,208 £243,429 £209,950 £270,000 £224,950
Q2
£248,288 £294,471 £257,781 £219,950 £279,995 £234,995
Q3
£249,198 £295,697 £258,724 £220,000 £280,000 £234,950
Q4
£256,519 £300,643 £264,699 £230,000 £285,995 £240,000
2017
£271,947 £317,771 £280,679 £245,950 £299,995 £259,000
Q1
£263,089 £306,813 £271,166 £234,950 £289,995 £246,995
Q2
£271,624 £315,925 £280,205 £245,000 £299,995 £259,500
Q3 (R)
£277,003 £320,496 £285,495 £250,000 £302,000 £263,500
Q4 (R)
£273,819 £323,926 £283,210 £249,250 £307,995 £260,000
2018
£283,519
£330,045
£291,861
£259,995
£317,995
£271,000
Q1
£280,160 £325,959 £288,462 £255,000 £312,950 £269,950
Q2 (R)
£280,798 £328,050 £289,228 £256,995 £315,000 £269,995
Q3 (R)
£290,591 £335,077 £298,965 £269,950 £324,850 £279,995
Q4 (R)
£283,263 £330,841 £291,468 £259,995 £317,500 £269,995
2019
£291,462
£332,701
£298,234
£267,000
£320,000
£275,995
Q1 (P)
£294,772 £329,794 £300,362 £268,950 £315,000 £275,000
£289,124 £334,641 £296,744 £265,000 £324,995 £276,950
Average to
30 Jun
2019
£253,646 £301,208 £262,522
£227,953 £284,950 £239,950
9
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
In London, the average purchase price of all properties sold under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan
scheme to 30 June 2019 exceeded the national average, under the scheme, with a mean property
purchase price of £423,672 and a median of £424,700. London average purchase prices of
properties sold to First Time Buyers and Non-First Time Buyers follow the same pattern as the
national average, with existing homeowners acquiring higher priced properties.
Size of Equity Loan
In England, the median equity loan was £45,000 for First Time Buyers, £55,999 for non-First Time
Buyers and £47,399 across all completions. The mean equity loans were higher at £56,062 for
First Time Buyers, £60,825 for non-First Time Buyers and £56,951 for all completions. Each of
these mean equity loans are around 20 per cent of the value of the corresponding mean purchase
price, reflecting the fact that the majority of completions in the scheme used the full 20 per cent
equity loan available to them.
Property type
Table 5 shows the number of properties sold under Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme by property
type. Help to Buy has mainly supported the purchase of houses. Up to June 2019, 17 per cent of
all transactions were for flats and 83 per cent were for houses, split among detached, semi-
detached and terraced houses, and two bungalows. Proportionally, First Time Buyers purchased
more flats, terraced and semi-detached properties, but fewer detached houses than existing
owners.
Table 5: Cumulative number of legal completions to 30 June 2019, by property type,
England
Property Type
Cumulative
completions
(First Time
Buyers)
Percentage of
completions (First
Time Buyers)
Cumulative
completions
(all)
Percentage of
completions
(all)
Flats and Studios
38,344
40,708
Detached
47,836
72,120
Semi-Detached
64,629
75,843
Terraced 41,376
47,612
Bungalow 2
2
Unrecorded
25
28
All properties
1
192,212
236,313
1. Includes 28 completions (25 for First Time Buyers) for which the property type was not recorded and 57 Studio
apartments (56 for First Time Buyers, 1 for an existing homeowner).
20%
25%
34%
22%
17%
31%
32%
20%
10
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Purchaser deposits
More than a half (56 per cent) of all home purchases were made with a deposit up to 5% of the
property purchase price at the point of sale and 22 per cent with a deposit ranging between 5%
and 10%. The remaining 22 per cent were made by purchasers who paid a deposit of 10% of the
property value or more.
As expected, a greater proportion of First Time Buyers (60 per cent) put down a deposit of 5% per
cent or less of the property purchase price, compared with existing home-owners (39 per cent).
There was also a difference between the proportion of First Time Buyers (10 per cent) and non-
First Time Buyers (28 per cent) that used a deposit of more than 15%.
Table 6: Cumulative number of legal completions to 30 June 2019, by purchaser
deposit level and type of purchaser, England
Deposit band
1
Cumulative
completions
(First Time
Buyers)
Cumulative
completions
(non-First Time
Buyers)
Cumulative
completions
(total)
Percentage of
completions
(all)
Up to 5%
115,035
17,361
124,881
5.1% to 10%
43,107
9,077
48,365
10.1% to 15%
14,376
5,376
18,394
15.1% or more
19,694
19,694
29,765
All properties
192,212
44,101
236,313
1. The deposit level for each transaction is calculated by expressing the amount of purchaser deposit as a
percentage of the purchase price and rounding to one decimal place.
Applicant household incomes
The household income of purchasers of properties under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme is
recorded for each completion in the scheme. ‘Total applicant household income’ reported below
refers to the total income for the household, regardless of how many members of that household
are making the purchase.
Table 7 shows the breakdown of homes purchased by total household income. To June 2019, 53
per cent of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan borrowers had household incomes between £20,000 and
£50,000. Only 2 and 4 per cent of applicants had household incomes below £20,000 and above
£100,000 respectively. The majority of First Time Buyers (56 per cent) using Help to Buy: Equity
Loan to purchase a property had household incomes ranging between £20,000 and £50,000.
56%
22%
8%
14%
11
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Table 7: Cumulative number of legal completions to 30 June 2019, by total applicant
household income, England
Total applicant
household Income
1
Cumulative
completions
(First Time
Buyers)
Percentage of
completions (First
Time Buyers)
Cumulative
completions
(all)
Percentage of
completions
(all)
£0 – £20,000
3,627
4,032
£20,001 - £30,000
24,559
27,201
£30,001 - £40,000
41,472
47,766
£40,001 - £50,000
42,246
51,454
£50,001 - £60,000
30,150
38,758
£60,001 - £80,000
30,231
40,942
£80,001 - £100,000
11,732
15,789
Greater than £100,000
8,195
10,371
All applicant households
192,212
236,313
1. Total applicant household income as registered on the Help to Buy Property Information Form completed at the
point of reservation. Income brackets presented here reflect total applicant household income, which does not
discriminate between single person applications and joint applications under the scheme. Purchasers must have proof
of income in order to be eligible for a Help to Buy: Equity Loan. The scheme allows for property purchases up to
£600,000 with a maximum equity loan of 20 per cent and 40 per cent in Greater London. After accounting for the
purchaser deposit and equity loan, the remaining balance must be financed through a mortgage which is not in excess
of 4.5 times the applicant’s household income e.g. a £600,000 property, with a 5 per cent purchaser deposit (£30,000)
and a 20 per cent equity loan (£120,000) must fund the remainder of the purchase through a mortgage (£450,000). In
this instance, the total applicant household income must be at least £100,000 per annum.
The quarterly averages of total applicant household income can be seen in Table 8. The average
total applicant household income of scheme beneficiaries to date has been £52,494. Existing
home owners have a total household income which is, on average, £6,497 higher when compared
to First Time Buyers. The median total applicant household income at national level is £46,058 for
First Time Buyers, £53,958 for non-First Time Buyers and £47,594 for all completions.
In London, the average total household income of Help to Buy: Equity Loan applicants exceeded
the national average, with a mean total household income of £69,916 and median of £64,470. The
distribution of mean and median total household income by purchaser type reflects the national
pattern with existing owners having on average higher household incomes compared to First-Time
Buyers.
Figures for quarterly average total household incomes for London and England excluding London
can be found in the tables accompanying the release.
2%
13%
22%
22%
16%
16%
6%
4%
2%
12%
20%
22%
16%
17%
7%
4%
12
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Table 8: Average total applicant household income under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by
quarter, to 30 June 2019, England
Mean total applicant household income Median total applicant household income
First Time
Buyers
Non-First
Time Buyers
All
First Time
Buyers
Non-First
Time Buyers
All
2013
£43,497
£55,931
£44,877
£38,700
£51,998
£40,000
Q2
£40,601
£54,600
£41,260
£36,469
£50,372
£37,000
Q3
£43,055
£55,783
£44,282
£38,276
£52,203
£39,500
Q4
£44,567
£56,105
£46,125
£39,600
£51,996
£40,914
2014
£45,513
£55,043
£47,447
£40,500
£50,500
£42,369
Q1
£44,895
£57,509
£47,010
£40,000
£52,421
£42,000
Q2
£45,524
£55,659
£47,640
£40,424
£50,641
£42,433
Q3
£45,659
£54,201
£47,497
£40,522
£50,000
£42,257
Q4
£45,844
£53,669
£47,502
£40,997
£50,045
£42,500
2015
£47,861
£55,344
£49,450
£42,920
£51,000
£44,620
Q1
£45,878
£55,280
£47,953
£41,350
£50,400
£43,200
Q2
£47,925
£55,637
£49,550
£43,000
£51,188
£44,750
Q3
£48,148
£54,948
£49,585
£43,366
£51,090
£45,000
Q4
£48,526
£55,376
£49,968
£43,308
£51,000
£44,989
2016
£50,430
£56,966
£51,743
£45,230
£53,159
£46,940
Q1 (R)
£49,142
£55,993
£50,624
£44,000
£53,000
£45,650
Q2
£50,842
£56,757
£52,058
£45,346
£52,559
£47,037
Q3
£50,288
£57,759
£51,818
£45,253
£53,316
£47,000
Q4
£50,859
£57,189
£52,033
£45,943
£53,700
£47,360
2017
£53,310
£58,362
£54,273
£48,011
£54,744
£49,331
Q1
£51,781
£57,339
£52,807
£46,400
£54,024
£48,000
Q2
£53,438
£58,019
£54,325
£48,000
£54,024
£49,140
Q3
£53,928
£58,965
£54,912
£48,918
£55,153
£50,000
Q4 (R)
£53,638
£58,847
£54,614
£48,421
£55,207
£49,811
2018
£54,909
£60,214
£55,860
£50,000
£56,923
£51,026
Q1
£54,208
£59,310
£55,133
£49,274
£56,452
£50,324
Q2 (R)
£54,778
£60,303
£55,764
£49,750
£56,588
£50,969
Q3 (R)
£55,778
£61,614
£56,877
£50,344
£57,857
£51,846
Q4 (R)
£54,865
£59,641
£55,689
£50,000
£56,500
£51,060
2019
£56,401
£61,011
£57,158
£51,000
£57,000
£52,000
Q1 (P)
£56,033
£59,905
£56,651
£50,700
£56,016
£51,568
Q2 (P)
£56,660
£61,749
£57,512
£51,300
£57,875
£52,400
Average to
30 Jun 2019
£51,281 £57,778 £52,494 £46,058 £53,958 £47,594
Property tenure (freehold/leasehold)
Table 9 shows the number of completions by property type and tenure. Of the 236,313
completions in the scheme, 40,708 were flats, and 195,577 were houses.
Of the 40,708 flats, 95 per cent were recorded as leasehold tenure and 5 per cent were recorded
as freehold tenure.
Of the 195,577 houses, 90 per cent, were recorded as freehold tenure and 10 per cent were
13
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
recorded as leasehold tenure.
Table 9: Cumulative number of legal completions to 30 June 2019, by property type and
tenure, England
1
Property Type
Cumulative
completions
(total):
of which
freehold;
Percentage
freehold
of which
leasehold
Percentage
leasehold
Unrecorded
Flat
2
40,708
2,231
5%
38,477
95%
-
Houses:
195,577
176,826
90%
18,744
10%
7
Detached
72,120
64,779
90%
7,336
10%
5
Semi-detached
75,843
68,535
90%
7,307
10%
1
Terraced
47,612
43,510
91%
4,101
9%
1
Bungalow
2
2
100%
-
0%
-
Unrecorded
28
18
64%
10
36%
-
All properties
3,4
236,313 179,075 76% 57,231 24% 7
1. 2,229 flats/studios have been recorded as freehold on the Homes England Management System. This is based on information provided by
Help to Buy agents in accordance with the monitoring requirements for the payment of the equity loans. In England, flats are typically owned on
a leasehold basis and freehold flats are rare. A flat may also be owned as a ‘share of freehold’, meaning a tenant will have a lease for their flat
as well as a share in the freehold of the whole building, but technically the flat will still be a leasehold. It is most likely that these flats recorded as
freehold, are ‘share of freehold’.
2. Includes 57 Studio apartments (2 freehold, 55 leasehold)
3. Includes 28 completions for which the property type was not recorded (18 freehold, 10 leasehold) and 51 Studio apartments (2 freehold, 49
leasehold).
4. Includes 7 properties (5 detached, 1 semi-detached and 1 terraced) for which the tenure type was not recorded.
The proportion of houses sold under the scheme on a leasehold basis was on an upward trend
until early 2017; since then it has declined. Table 9a (which can be found in the tables
accompanying the release) shows at the start of the scheme, in 2013 Q2, 5.7 per cent of houses
were sold on a leasehold basis. Sales of leasehold houses rose and peaked in 2017 Q1 at 18.4
per cent and have since fallen to 1.6 per cent in 2019 Q2. Houses sold under the scheme on a
leasehold basis are particularly prevalent in the North West, which is a Homes England (formerly
the Homes and Communities Agency) Operating Area, as detailed in the Local Authority Table 9b
(which can be found in the tables accompanying the release).
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Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Accompanying tables
Accompanying tables are available to download alongside this release:
Table 1 Number and value of Help to Buy: Equity Loans (quarterly), by local authority,
England
Table 1b Number and value of Help to Buy: Equity Loans (quarterly) for first time buyers, by
local authority, England
Table 2 Number and value of Help to Buy: Equity Loans (monthly), England
These tables can be accessed from
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/help-to-buy-equity-loan-and-newbuy-statistics
The statistical release Tables 1- 9b are also available to download from the link above.
In addition, legacy Help to Buy: NewBuy tables are also available at the link above. These tables
have not been updated. For more information please see the Help to Buy: NewBuy text in the
definitions and user engagement sections.
Table 3 Cumulative number of Help to Buy: NewBuy completions (since March 2012) by
local authority, England
Statistical Number of legal completions, Government liability (£m), and cost to Government
Release (£m) under the Help to Buy: NewBuy Guarantee scheme, England
Table 10
Open Data
These statistics are available in fully open and linkable data formats at Open Data Communities:
http://opendatacommunities.org
Definitions
The Housing Statistics and English Survey glossary can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/housing-statistics-and-england-housing-survey-glossary/a-to-z
The glossary is a single reference point for terms and definitions used in MHCLG housing
statistical publications and English Housing Survey reports, arranged alphabetically.
15
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Help to Buy: Equity Loans
An equity loan is Government financial assistance given to eligible applicants to purchase an
eligible home through a Government equity mortgage secured on the home. The Government
equity mortgage is ranked second in priority behind an owner’s main mortgage lender. The
Government equity mortgage means that if Government contributed 20 per cent of the value to the
applicant to buy a home, the owner will repay 20 per cent of the future value to Government e.g.
when selling their equity loan home.
The equity loan scheme reported in this statistical release is Help to Buy: Equity loan. This
scheme offers up to 20 per cent of the value (40 per cent in Greater London) as Government
assistance to purchasers buying a new build home. The buyer must provide a cash deposit of at
least 5 per cent and a main mortgage lender must provide a loan of at least 75 per cent (55 per
cent in Greater London). The Government assistance to buy is made through an equity loan
made by Homes England to the purchaser. Help to Buy equity loans are only available on new
build homes and the maximum purchase price is £600,000. Equity loan assistance for purchasers
is paid via house builders registered with Homes England to participate in the Help to Buy equity
loan initiative. The payment is made to builders (via solicitors) at purchaser legal completion. The
equity loan is provided without fees for the first five years of ownership. The property title is held
by the home owner who can therefore sell their home at any time and upon sale should provide
the government the value of the same equity share of the property when it is sold. If Government
contributed 20 per cent of the value to buy a new home, the owner will repay 20 per cent of the
future value (the value at the time they sell) to Government, e.g. when selling their equity loan
home. More information can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/affordable-home-ownership-schemes/help-to-buy-equity-loans
The following definitions are used in relation to the equity loan scheme:
•
Completed equity loans (“purchaser legal completions”): a purchaser legal completion
is defined as occurring when the home is ready for occupation, the sale contract between
house builder and purchaser has completed and all mortgage funds, deposit and equity
loan assistance have been paid to the house builder. The purchaser takes possession after
legal completion.
•
Reservations: a reservation is defined as the point at which an Authority to Proceed (ATP)
is issued by the local Help to Buy Agent. The ATP is issued by Local Help to Buy Agent
following their approval of a firm reservation of a Help to Buy Home. ATP issue is the
approval for purchasers to commence conveyancing and submit a full mortgage application
to the main mortgage lender.
The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme replaced the existing FirstBuy shared equity scheme on 1
April 2013. Information about the FirstBuy scheme can be found here:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130203154301/http:/homesengland.co.uk/cfg?page_i
d=6016&page=71
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Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Completions of legacy FirstBuy transactions that occurred after 1 April 2013 are not included in
these statistics. For the reporting period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014, there were 957 legacy
FirstBuy for a total value of Government equity loan of £13m. FirstBuy offered up to a 20 per cent
equity loan on new build properties for First Time Buyers only, co-funded between Government
and the house builder.
The figures provided in this release are based on the legal completion date for the sale. A
purchaser legal completion is defined as when the home is ready for occupation, the sale contract
between house builder and purchaser has completed and all mortgage funds, deposits and equity
loan assistance have been paid to the house builder. The purchaser takes possession after legal
completion.
In February 2016, the Government launched London Help to Buy, which offers equity loans at up
to 40% of the value of the purchase price. The parameters of the scheme are the same as for
standard Help to Buy: Equity Loan: deposits of at least 5% will be required; and the loans will be
interest-free for 5 years, after which a charge will apply.
Although from April 2012 the Mayor of London has had strategic oversight of housing,
regeneration and economic development in London, Homes England administers the Help to Buy:
Equity Loans scheme on behalf of the Greater London Authority.
The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme operate only in England.
Help to Buy: NewBuy Guarantee Scheme
The title of the NewBuy Guarantee scheme was changed in early 2014 to ‘Help to Buy: NewBuy’,
so that it is grouped together with the Government’s other schemes designed to help prospective
home buyers: Help to Buy: Equity Loan and Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee.
The scheme allows borrowers to secure up to a 95 per cent loan-to-value mortgage on a new build
property. More detail on the scheme can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/increasing-the-number-of-available-homes/supporting-
pages/newbuy-guarantee-scheme
The guarantee is provided by Government, in partnership with the house building industry. In the
event of a borrower defaulting on their mortgage, Government and the respective house builder
assume responsibility for any debt which is not already paid back to the mortgage lender.
Mortgages are covered by the government guarantee from point of completion. Government's
maximum total contingent liability is capped at £1bn. Each time a property is sold under the Help
to Buy: NewBuy Guarantee scheme, Government's maximum possible cost within this limit
increases by 5.5 per cent of the property's sale value.
Government's costs will be incurred only when: (i) Help to Buy: NewBuy properties have been
17
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
purchased (completed), possessed, and/or resold, and have attracted losses, and those losses
have been claimed by the appropriate lender/s; and (ii) the total of such losses is in excess of the
total of the builder's corresponding indemnity fund.
The Help to Buy: NewBuy Guarantee scheme operated only in England.
The Help to Buy: NewBuy Guarantee scheme closed to new mortgage offers on 8 March 2015.
Any final transactions were completed on or before 8 September 2015.
Completions of legacy Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme are not included in these statistics. For the
reporting period, 12 March 2012 to 8 September 2015, a total of 5,694 house purchases were
made using the Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme.
Figures for the cumulative number of Help to Buy: NewBuy completions (since March 2012), by
local authority in England can be found in all statistical releases up to 2018 Q1 and in
accompanying tables 3 and 10. These legacy tables are no longer updated and can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/help-to-buy-equity-loan-and-newbuy-statistics
18
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Technical notes
Data collection
Help to Buy: Equity Loans
Data is extracted from Homes England’s Investment Management System (IMS). This contains
information provided by Help to Buy agents in accordance with monitoring requirements for the
payment of the equity loans.
Data quality
Assessment of data quality
In 2015 the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) published a
regulatory standard for the quality
assurance of administrative data. To assess the quality of the data provided for this release the
department has followed that standard.
The standard is supported with an Administrative Data Quality Assurance Toolkit which provides
useful guidance on the practices that can be adopted to assure the quality of the data they utilise.
The Help to Buy: Equity loan statistical release is produced by MHCLG based on data provided to
the department from Homes England. An assessment of the level of risk based on the Quality
Assurance Toolkit is as follows:
Risk/Profile Matrix
Statistical Series
Administrative
Source
Data Quality
Concern
Public Interest
Matrix
Classification
Help to Buy:
Equity loan
Help to Buy agents
providing data to
Homes England
information
management
System (IMS)
Low
Medium
Low Risk [A1/A2]
The publication of Help to Buy: Equity loan can be considered as medium profile, as there is some
mainstream media interest, with moderate economic and/or political sensitivity.
The data quality concern is considered a low concern given that the data is collected on behalf of
the department by Homes England who have several quality assurance checks in place.
The data are then further quality assured in detail by the responsible statistician within the
department. Further validation and quality checks are carried out, any issues detected are then
queried with Homes England.
Overall, the Help to Buy: Equity Loan statistics have been assessed as A1/A2: Low Risk.
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Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
A full outline of the statistical production process and quality assurance carried out is provided in
the flow chart in Figure 2. Further details are also provided against each of the four areas outlined
in the Quality Assurance of Administrative Data (QAAD) Toolkit.
Figure 2: Quality assurance flow diagram
20
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Operational context and admin data collection
Help to Buy: Equity Loan is government scheme administered by Homes England. Through Help
to Buy: Equity Loan the Government lends equity towards the cost of a newly built home.
Data to produce this statistical return is collected by Homes England as part of their administration
of the scheme. The data is recorded in Homes England’s Information Management System (IMS)
by Help to Buy agents.
Help to Buy agents are appointed by Homes England. Help to Buy agents administer the Help to
Buy: Equity Loan scheme. They have the authority to give the go-ahead for purchases with help
from the equity loan scheme. The agents also make other key decisions during the purchase
process. Details of the Help to Buy agents are available on the Help to Buy website
https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/equity-loan/find-helptobuy-agent/
Communication with data supply partners
Homes England is a non-departmental public body. It is governed by a board who decide what its
priorities are. Its members are appointed by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and
Local Government. There is agreement in place for Homes England to collect and provide this
data to the department.
Homes England provides clear guidance to the Help to Buy Agents who supply the data as part of
the Information Management system https://www.gov.uk/guidance/investment-management-
system-guidance-documents
House builders are required to submit a monthly return within the first 10 business days of each
month. Local Help to Buy agents are responsible for submitting an Authority to Proceed report
within 2 business days of month end.
QA principles, standards and checks by data suppliers
Data submitted to Homes England are subject to system validations in IMS. In addition, Help to
Buy Agents make Key Performance Standard monthly reports to Homes England and these
include compliance with Homes England requirements. Homes England also conducts random
file checks for accuracy on all Help to Buy Agents at quarterly contract review meetings. Following
extraction for the purposes of producing this statistical release, data are quality assured by
checking individual entries which exceed set tolerances e.g. such as purchaser income levels, as
well as ‘spot checks’ by cross checking with the Land Registry database (see:
http://houseprices.landregistry.gov.uk/sold-prices/).
Producers’ QA investigations and documentation
Data submitted to Homes England are subject to extensive checks, once it has been provided to
the department further quality assurance checks are carried out. These include; checking the total
number of completions with Homes England to ensure that the data sets match, comparing the
figures for the current release with previously published figures to determine whether there are any
anomalous increases, and geo-referencing the data. Geo-referencing involves attributing property
21
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
addresses to an individual local authority, parliamentary constituency, postcode sector and district
by reconciling data against the latest version of the ONS Postcode Directory where possible.
There are further final quality assurance checks performed when producing this final statistical
bulletin and live tables end product. These checks use a clear checklist approach to ensure
published figures are consistent across the release and live tables, with each check being
systematically signed off when it has been completed.
Imputation
There is no imputation of figures in this release. The data provided from Homes England is a
complete record of all Help to buy equity loans.
Revisions policy
This policy has been developed in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice for
Statistics and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Revisions Policy
(found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statistical-notice-dclg-revisions-policy).
There are two types of revisions that the policy covers:
Non-Scheduled Revisions
Where a substantial error has occurred as a result of the compilation, imputation or dissemination
process, the statistical release, live tables and other accompanying releases will be updated with a
correction notice as soon as is practical.
Scheduled Revisions
Help to Buy: Equity Loan statistics are drawn from the grant administration system and therefore
updated information can be provided by grant recipients after the official statistics have been
extracted and compiled. If required, revisions are incorporated into the next scheduled statistical
release. For each release, revisions are made from April 1 2015 onwards.
Initially, Homes England
recorded Help to Buy equity loan sales at approval of payment of the builder’s claim. In January
2015 the National Audit Office advised that, for accounting purposes, sales should be recorded at
the completion of the home purchase. Homes England has amended the data on this basis. The
main effect is on the distribution of sales across previous quarters. The most recent cumulative
totals are slightly increased. The first revised total to the end of January 2015 was included in the
monthly statistics on the 5 March 2015 which also explained the change. The first revised time
series (count and value of loans) was included in the monthly statistics on the 31
March 2015.
Uses of the data
The data are used for monitoring the delivery of the Help to Buy: Equity loans scheme. They are
also used to inform wider government policy on housing.
User engagement
This release provides data on ‘Help to Buy (Equity Loan Scheme)’ only. It previously had a section
on the ‘Help to Buy: NewBuy’ scheme which closed to new mortgage offers on 8 March 2015. Any
22
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
final transactions were completed on or before 8 September 2015. Therefore, starting Q2 2018,
the title of this release was shortened to ‘Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme), Data to 30 June
2019, England’ to reflect its reduced content. The release retains a legacy section on the ‘Newbuy
scheme’ providing summary figures and links to past releases and tables.
Users are encouraged to provide feedback on how these statistics are used and how well they
meet user needs. Comments on any issues relating to this statistical release are welcomed and
encouraged. Responses should be addressed to the "Public enquiries" contact given in the
"Enquiries" section below.
The Ministry’s engagement strategy to meet the needs of statistics users is published here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/engagement-strategy-to-meet-the-needs-of-statistics-
users
A short questionnaire on how the Housing Statistics and data are used and the decisions they
inform is currently open at:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/housinguser
Related statistics
A guide showing how the different housing statistics produced by the Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government relate to each other can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-mhclg-housing-statistics
Help to Buy: Equity Loan and related statistics are detailed in Table 11. Further information can be
found in the separate statistical release for each source which can be found at the links below.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is part of a cross government
working group, including devolved administrations and the Office of National Statistics, working to
improve the trustworthiness quality and value of housing and planning statistics across the UK.
This working group has published action plan to make the planned improvements on house
building statistics clear and transparent to users. Details of this work and how you can provide
feedback are available via the Government Statistical Service website:
https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/guidances/working-with-users-2/housing-and-planning-statistics/
23
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Table 11: Help to Buy: Equity Loan and related statistics
Release
What do statistics
show?
Frequency
Where does the data come from?
What are these figures
most appropriate for?
This release:
Help to Buy
(Equity Loan
scheme)
MHCLG
Number of homes
purchased and the
value of equity
loans under the
Government’s Help
to Buy: Equity
Loan scheme.
Quarterly
(Jan,Apr,Aug,Nov
)
Data is extracted from Homes
England’s Investment Management
System. This contains information
provided by Help to Buy agents in
accordance with monitoring
requirements for the payment of the
equity loans.
Provides an accurate
assessment of properties
purchased using the
Government’s Help to Buy:
Equity Loan scheme.
Help to Buy:
NewBuy
Guarantee
scheme
MHCLG
Number of homes
purchased under
the Government’s
Help to Buy:
NewBuy scheme.
Finalised.
(Quarterly release
previously
published but no
longer updated as
scheme closed in
2015).
Data provided by JLT Insurance
Management (Guernsey) Ltd in its
capacity as administrator to the
NewBuy Mortgage Indemnity
Scheme.
Provides an accurate
assessment of properties
purchased using the
Government’s Help to Buy:
NewBuy scheme.
Help to Buy:
Mortgage
Guarantee
scheme
HMT
Number of homes
purchased under
the Government’s
Help to Buy:
Mortgage
Guarantee scheme.
Finalised.
(Quarterly release
previously
published but no
longer updated as
scheme closed in
2016).
Data provided by UK Asset
Resolution corporate services, who
administer the scheme on behalf of
HM Treasury, collect data from
lenders participating in the scheme
in accordance with monitoring and
reporting requirements set by HM
Treasury.
Provides an accurate
assessment of properties
purchased using the
Government’s Help to Buy:
Mortgage Guarantee
scheme in the UK.
Housing
Statistics
Homes
England
Housing starts on
site and housing
completions
delivered by Homes
England (which will
exclude Help to
Buy: Equity Loan)
Six-monthly
(Jun, Nov)
The latest statistics on the supply of
homes provided by the Homes
England, excluding London except
for delivery of programmes
(excluding Help to Buy Equity Loan)
managed by Homes England on
behalf of the Greater London
Authority.
Provides and accurate
assessment of starts on
sites and housing
completions delivered by
Homes England.
Affordable
housing
supply
MHCLG
Overall affordable
housing supply
(new build and
acquisitions)
Annual
(November)
Homes England and Greater
London Authority data which is
published every six months
combined with Local Authority
Housing Statistics Data
Provides the most complete
estimate of affordable
housing supply, including
shared ownership schemes.
Affordable housing figures
are a subset of total housing
supply.
Housing
supply;
net additional
dwellings
MHCLG
Total housing
supply that
comprises all new
build, conversions,
change of use,
other gains/losses
and demolitions
Annual
(November)
Comes from local authorities outside
London (Housing Flows
Reconciliation Return) and for
London boroughs is provided by
Greater London Authority (London
Development Database)
Provides an accurate
assessment of annual
change in all housing stock
and is the most
comprehensive estimate of
supply.
House
building;
new build
dwellings
MHCLG
Quarterly estimates
of new build starts
and completions
Quarterly
(Mar,June,Sep,
Dec)
Building control officers at:
• National House Building
Council
• Local Authorities
• Approved Inspectors
This is a ‘leading indicator’
of house building, available
soon (< 2 months) after
quarter end
24
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Help to Buy: NewBuy Guarantee
The final MHCLG Help to Buy: NewBuy Guarantee statistics can be found at the following link.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/help-to-buy-equity-loan-and-newbuy-statistics
Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee
The final Help to Buy:Mortgage Guarantee statistics can be found at the following link.
http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/help-to-buy-mortgage-guarantee-scheme-quarterly-
statistics
Housing Statistics
The Homes England Housing Statistics can be found at the following link.
http://www.homesengland.co.uk/housing-statistics
Affordable Housing Supply
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Affordable Housing Supply
statistics can be found at the following link.
http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-for-housing-communities-and-local-
government/series/affordable-housing-supply
Housing Supply: Net Additional Dwellings
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Housing Supply; Net Additional
Dwellings statistics can be found at the following link.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/net-supply-of-housing
House Building: New Build Dwellings
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s House Building: New Build
Dwellings statistics can be found at the following link.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/house-building-statistics
25
Help to Buy (Equity Loan scheme) Statistical Release
Enquiries
Media enquiries:
0303 444 1209
Email: newsdesk@communities.gov.uk
Public enquiries and Responsible Statistician:
Alexandra Turner
Email: housing.statistics@communities.gov.uk
Information on Official Statistics is available via the UK Statistics Authority website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements
Information about statistics at MHCLG is available via the Ministry’s website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-housing-communities-and-local-
government/about/statistics
© Crown copyright, 2019
Copyright in the typographical arrangement rests with the Crown.
You may re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the
Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/
or
write to the Information Policy Team at The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU. Alternatively, email
psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
This document/publication is also available on our website at www.gov.uk/mhclg
If you have any enquiries regarding this document/publication, email contactus@communities.gov.uk or write to us at:
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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Telephone: 030 3444 0000
November 2019
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