The sales recorded in this release cover the period from 1 April to 30 June 2021. Within this period both the previous Help to Buy scheme (2013 to 2021) and the current Help to Buy scheme (2021 to 2023) were running. More details on these schemes can be found in the ‘About Help to Buy’ section.

1. Key statistics

Between 1 April and 30 June 2021 – 10,824 properties were bought with an equity loan, an increase of 85% from the same period in 2020.

From 1 April 2013 to 30 June 2021 – 339,347 properties were bought with an equity loan.

The total value of these equity loans so far totals £20.9 billion.

The value of the properties sold under the scheme totals £94.4 billion.

83% of all completions are by first-time buyers.

2. About the Help to Buy equity loan scheme

Help to Buy Equity Loans were introduced on 1 April 2013 as a means for helping buyers purchase new build properties. The government would provide, via an equity loan, up to 20% of the value of a property (up to 40% in London since February 2016) which is repayable when the property is sold in the future. In 2020 it was announced that the Help to Buy scheme would change with new limits put in place.

The sales recorded in this release cover the period from 1 April to 30 June 2021. Within this period both the previous Help to Buy scheme (2013 to 2021) and the current Help to Buy scheme (2021 to 2023) were running. The previous scheme deadlines initially required properties to be built out by the end of December 2020 and completed by the end of March 2021. However, an extension was granted until 28 February 2021 for properties to be built out and until 31 May 2021 for legal sale completion for properties delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2.1 Previous scheme (2013 to 2021)

The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme ran from April 2013 to May 2021, offered customers an equity loan of up to 20% of the purchase price of a new build property with a maximum value of £600,000. In Greater London, the maximum equity loan was increased to 40% in February 2016. The scheme was open to anyone purchasing a property but was targeted at first-time buyers, who made up 82% of all purchases.

2.2 Current scheme (2021 to 2023)

The Help to Buy: Equity Loan 2021-2023 scheme was announced in 2018 and launched by the Secretary of State on 1 April 2021. The scheme is similar to the 2013 to 2021 scheme but has tighter restrictions on who can use it and the purchase price of the properties is capped by region.

3. Value of equity loans and properties

3.1 Overall figures from 1 April 2013 to 30 June 2021

Statistics for Help to Buy: Equity Loan are based on legal completion dates for transactions under the scheme as operated in England and cover the period from the launch of the scheme on 1 April 2013 to 30 June 2021. Monthly and quarterly figures are also provided and can be found in the accompanying tables.

Between April 2013 and 30 June 2021, 339,347 properties were sold through Help to Buy: Equity Loan, using a total value of equity loans of £20.9 billion. These equity loans supported the purchase of £94.4 billion worth of property.

Between April 2013 and 30 June 2021, first time buyers accounted for 83% of total home purchases. 280,495 properties were bought by first time buyers through Help to Buy: Equity Loan using a total value of equity loans of £17.2 billion. The overall value of properties sold to first time buyers total £75.7 billion.

3.2 Quarterly figures for Q2 2021

In Q2 2021 (1 April to 30 June 2021) there were 10,824 properties sold through Help to Buy: Equity Loan, using a total value of equity loans of £808 million. These equity loans supported the purchase of £3,278 million worth of property.

Of these 10,824 properties, 10,375 (96%) were bought by first time buyers, using a total value of equity loans of £773 million to purchase property worth a total of £3,111 million.

The total number of completions in Q2 2021 were down by 29% compared to the previous quarter, while they were up by 85% compared to Q2 2020, however this was during the period when restrictions were introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to Q2 2019, completions in Q2 2021 were down by 27%.

In Q2 2021, both the previous (2013 to 2021) and current (2021 to 2023) schemes were running simultaneously. There were 2,186 and 8,638 completions in the two schemes respectively during this quarter.

The grey area on the graphs below denotes where both the previous (2013 to 2021) and current (2021 to 2023) schemes were running simultaneously

Total number of home purchases completed under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, Quarterly from Q2 2018 to Q2 2021, by English region

The quarterly breakdown of total completions, equity loan value and purchase value are available in the accompanying tables.

3.3 Annual figures

For England, home purchases completed under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme totalled 60,634 in the year to 30 June 2021, up by 43% compared with the year to 30 June 2020 (42,318 completions). First time buyers bought 51,544 properties under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme in the year to 30 June 2021, up by 49% compared with the year to 30 June 2020 (34,541 completions)

The table and graph below presents figures the year ending 30 June 2014 to the year ending 30 June 2021. Monthly breakdowns are available in the accompanying tables.

Total number of home purchases, value of equity loans and total purchase price of properties completed under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, for the year ending 30 June 2014 to the year ending 30 June 2021

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 2021, including figures for first time buyers and purchases completed in London

The graph above shows that the number of properties bought annually using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan gradually increased from the year ending June 2014 to the year ending June 2021. There was a slight decrease in the year to 30 June 2020 which may be due to the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Monthly data is available in Table 3 of the accompanying tables.

3.4 Help to Buy in London

Since the launch of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme on 1 April 2013 to 30 June 2021, 33,235 properties were bought with an equity loan in London.

In the year to 30 June 2021, 7,927 home purchases were completed under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan in London, up by 46% on the year to 30 June 2020 (5,446 completions). In London, first time buyers bought 7,688 properties under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme in the year to 30 June 2021, up by 49% on the year to 30 June 2020 (5,150 completions).

In London, the maximum equity loan was increased from 20% to 40% in February 2016, since then to 30 June 2021 there were 29,008 completions in London. Of these, 25,979 were made with an equity loan higher than 20% and 23,017 were made with an equity loan of exactly 40% of the purchase price, showing that most home purchases completed in London under the scheme used the full 40% equity loan available to them.

4. Property purchase price

The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme can be used to purchase a new build property with maximum values dependent on region, with a maximum equity loan of 20%. In Greater London, the maximum equity loan is 40%. Since April 2013, the mean purchase price of properties bought with a Help to Buy Equity Loan was £278,081, with a mean loan of £61,646.

The table below shows the number of homes purchased under Help to Buy: Equity Loan to 30 June 2021 by purchase price. 30% of Help to Buy: Equity Loan completions were for homes worth £200,000 or less. About 46% of properties acquired through the scheme had a purchase price ranging between £200,001 to £350,000 and 23% had a purchase price greater than £350,000. Overall, 50% of the homes purchased to 30 June 2021 had a price of £250,000 or less.

The price of properties acquired by first time buyers through Help to Buy: Equity Loan follows a similar pattern, with 53% of properties having a value at the point of sale of £250,000 or less.

Cumulative number of legal completions to 30 June 2021, by purchase price, England

The graph below shows the change in median purchase price for first time buyers and non first time buyers for purchases made with a Help to Buy: Equity Loan. All of this data can be found in Table 4, 4a and 4b accompanying this release.

The graph shows that all purchase prices have been steadily increasing since the start of the scheme in 2013, the purchase prices of properties bought by non first time buyers has continually been above that of first time buyers.

Average purchase price of property sold under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by calendar year, England

More information on the purchase price of properties bought with the help of a Help to Buy: Equity Loan is available in Tables 4, 4a and 4b) accompanying this release.

5. Type of property

The table below 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 30 June 2021, 18% of all transactions were for flats and 82% were for houses, split among detached, semi-detached and terraced houses, and 5 bungalows. Proportionally, first time buyers purchased more flats, terraced and semi-detached properties, but fewer detached houses than existing owners.

Cumulative number of legal completions to 30 June 2021 , by property type, England

6. Purchaser deposits

More than a half (54%) of all home purchases were made with a deposit up to 5% of the property purchase price at the point of sale and 24% with a deposit ranging between 5.1% and 10%. The remaining 22% were made by purchasers who paid a deposit of more than 10% of the property value.

A greater proportion of first time buyers (58%) put down a deposit of 5% or less of the property purchase price, compared with existing home-owners (36%). There was also a difference between the proportion of first time buyers (10%) and non-first time buyers (29%) that used a deposit of more than 15%.

7. 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.

Cumulative number of legal completions, to 30 June 2021, by total applicant household income, England.

To 30 June 2021, 49% of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan borrowers had household incomes between £20,000 and £50,000. Only 1% and 5% of applicants had household incomes below £20,000 and above £100,000 respectively. The majority of first time buyers (52%) using Help to Buy: Equity Loan to purchase a property had household incomes ranging between £20,000 and £50,000.

The graph below shows a similar pattern to the graph above regarding purchase price of properties. The median total applicant household income (the combined income of applicants using a Help to Buy: Equity Loan) has gradually increased since 2013 with first time buyers typically having a lower household income compared to non first time buyers.

Median total applicant household income under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by calendar year, England

The data for this graph can be found in Table 8 which accompany this release.

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