Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
The Government was considering the extension of the scheme in April
The ministers have been asked to extend the scheme beyond its planned December deadline to support buyers whose purchases have been delayed by the pandemic. The scheme is due to end in April 2021 and a new version of the scheme will run from April 2021 to March 2023, for first-time buyers only. If the original scheme ends when planned, sales transactions will need to be agreed by December 2020.
The Government was considering the extension of the scheme in April, during the COVID-19 Lockdown.
Stephen Kerrigan, Mortgage Advisor of MortgagesRM – Doncaster Fee Free Mortgage Broker commented:
Help to buy has been a staple of the new build housing market for the past seven years, the scheme has been used for more than a quarter of a million housing transactions. However, Help to Buy was launched as a temporary solution for first-time buyers to get onto the market. An extension will help support the ever-growing homebuyers who have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
The Coronavirus outbreak has caused severe disruption to the property market.
The Coronavirus outbreak has caused severe disruption to the property market. So, any consideration of new schemes has been side-lined while firms have worked to protect existing customers.
However, Pre-planned construction projects have also been significantly delayed – leaving customers who were relying on the Help to Buy scheme to purchase their new-build properties to feel as if this could be taken away by a somewhat arbitrary deadline.
