How much have Help To Buy ISAs helped first-time buyers?

First-time home buyers in Mansfield, Ashfield and Newark & Sherwood receive an average of £1,019 in support from the Government through Help to Buy ISAs, new figures show.
Shelter says the scheme only helps the better offShelter says the scheme only helps the better off
Shelter says the scheme only helps the better off

But housing charity Shelter says the scheme only helps the better-off while most renters cannot benefit from it because of a minimum cut-off for savings.

The latest Treasury data shows that 179 people in Mansfield received support from a Help to Buy ISA during the 12 months to September – two fewer than in the previous year.

But in total, £180,000 was paid to first-time buyers in the area, compared with £139,000 the previous year.

Shelter says the scheme only helps the better offShelter says the scheme only helps the better off
Shelter says the scheme only helps the better off

In Ashfield, 285 people received support over the same time period – 29 fewer than in the previous year – with £296,000 paid to first-time buyers in the area, compared with £236,000 the previous year.

Meanwhile, in Newark & Sherwood, 211 people received support – 12 fewer than in the previous year – and £214,000 was paid to first-time buyers in the area, compared with £182,000 the previous year.

The scheme aims to help people buy their first house.

Their property must be purchased with a mortgage and cannot be buy-to-let.

With a Help to Buy ISA, the Government adds 25 per cent to the funds saved in the in buyer's account at the point the property is purchased.

The minimum they will add is £400, meaning the buyer needs to save at least £1,600, and the maximum is £3,000.

Only individuals can open an account, but two people buying a property together can each use the bonus, giving them up to £6,000.

The Treasury estimates these subsidies helped buyers purchase 140 properties in Mansfield, 208 properties in Ashfield and 155 properties in Newark and Sherwood in the twelve months to September.

The maximum purchase price for which buyers are allowed to receive financial help under the scheme is £250,000, or £450,000 in London.

The average sale price of homes for first-time buyers in Mansfield the year to September was £119,000, while it was £123,000 in Ashfield and £150,000 in Newark & Sherwood.

Polly Neate, chief executive at Shelter, said: "Right now millions of people are stuck in the rent trap, paying well over the odds to put a roof over their head, with little hope of saving anything.

"It’s the failure of successive governments to build social homes that got us into this mess, so while Help to Buy ISAs may help a lucky few who are already better off, for most renters it will bring them no closer to a stable home.

"If the Government genuinely wants to help the nation's struggling renters, it needs to seriously invest in social housing. That’s why we want them to back our bold call for 3.1 million new social homes over the next twenty years."

Nationally, first-time buyers received £1,054 on average under Help to Buy from the Government to acquire their properties.