Help to Buy speeds up buying a home in Plymouth

New research from local housebuilder Barratt Homes shows that the government’s Help to Buy scheme can knock more than three years off the time it takes to get on the property ladder.

Barratt, which is building new homes in Plymouth, surveyed around 1,600 of its customers who had used Help to Buy to get their views on the scheme. More than half of the respondents (55 per cent) said it would have taken them three or more years to buy a house if they hadn’t used Help to Buy, while more than 33 per cent said that without using the scheme it would have taken them more than five years to get their home.

Two thirds of people said they would not have been able to buy their home without Help to Buy, while at least a third said it was the only way they could ever make it onto the housing ladder.

These findings underline just how successful Help to Buy is in helping people to buy their own home, particularly first time buyers. Nationally more than 80 per cent of the 195,000 families who have used Help to Buy are first time buyers, and without the scheme many thousands of families would now not own their home – either still trying to save or having given up completely.

The new research from Barratt Homes shows that Help to Buy is also really popular with customers. Nearly 90 per cent of users said they were either satisfied or very satisfied with Help to Buy, while 71 per cent have recommended the scheme to friends and other people.

Help to Buy is not only getting more people on to the housing ladder, it is also supporting more homes being built, creating jobs and driving economic growth in communities across the country. Since it was introduced in April 2013 the supply of new homes has increased by nearly 80 per cent and is now at levels not seen since the 1960s.

Huw Llewellyn, managing director of Barratt Homes in Exeter commented on the research, saying, “This new research makes it clear just how beneficial Help to Buy is. It enables people to buy their home much more quickly – often eliminating more than three years of saving for a deposit. Also, many people simply wouldn’t be able to buy their home any other way. Help to Buy is a really popular product, it’s available at most developments and people can just pop into our show homes to find out how it may help them.”

Barratt Homes is currently bringing new homes to Plymouth at its Redwood Heights developments.

For more information call 0330 057 6000 or www.barratthomes.co.uk.