Thousands use help to buy in Berkshire to buy new homes

A government initiative is helping thousands of families in Berkshire to get on to the housing ladder. New figures released by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) reveal that a total of 2,427 homebuyers in the area used the Help to Buy scheme since it was launched nearly five years ago.

Within the county, the districts which made the best use of the scheme were Wokingham (939) and Slough (422). Of the total amount of homebuyers that benefited from the scheme, 2,049 were first time buyers.
Local housebuilder David Wilson Homes Southern is encouraging homebuyers throughout Berkshire to take part in the popular scheme which has already helped tens of thousands of people across the country to buy a brand new home.

The scheme enables anyone, both first time buyers and existing owners, to put down just five per cent as a deposit for their new home and to take advantage of a government equity loan providing access to more affordable mortgage rates.

Rob Allen, Sales Director at David Wilson Homes Southern, said: “Berkshire has produced some strong results for the Help to Buy scheme and it is great to see districts such as Wokingham and Reading, where we build homes, achieving such high figures for the scheme in the county.
“Help to Buy has proved so helpful to so many homebuyers and we would encourage anyone looking to buy a home with lower upfront costs to get in touch.”

Help to Buy allows any homebuyer to secure a brand new home under the value of £600,000 with just a five per cent deposit. The government lends the buyer 20 per cent of the value of the property in the form of an interest free equity loan for five years, meaning that buyers then gain access to some of the great mortgage rates currently available with just a 75 per cent mortgage.
Available to all homebuyers, not just first timers, the scheme helps anyone looking for a boost up the property ladder.

On the David Wilson Homes website there is more information on Help to Buy – http://www.dwh.co.uk/Offers/Help-to-Buy/ together with a handy calculator which shows how much people can borrow using the scheme.
Parent company Barratt Developments has helped more than 19,000 people buy their home through government shared equity schemes such as Help to Buy, more than any other housebuilder.

Breakdown of total Help to Buy sales within Berkshire since the scheme launched in April 2013:

Districts in Berkshire FTBs Total number
Bracknell Forest 267 344
Reading 235 257
Slough 398 422
West Berkshire 255 309
Windsor and Maidenhead 141 156
Wokingham 753 939
TOTAL 2,049 2,427

David Wilson Homes is currently building high quality homes in the area at the following developments: Croft Gardens in Reading, Montague Park in Wokingham, Newbury Racecourse and The Chase @ Newbury Racecourse in Newbury.

Further information about the developments and David Wilson Homes is available at www.dwh.co.uk or by calling 0844 811 4333.