Help-To-Buy Scheme Could Threaten UK Housing Market

The Help To Buy Scheme Could Be Scaled Back Amid Concerns That The UK Property Market Could Be Heading
For Another Property Bubble

George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has said that the Bank of England are being vigilant on UK house price rises and they would intervene if the situation becomes necessary.

The Chancellor’s comments come after the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned that the booming UK property market could threaten the economic recovery of the country.

Possible action could include reigning back the Government’s Help-To-Buy scheme, which enables people with only a small deposit to take out a mortgage.

In a report the OECD said that “The UK should introduce measures to address the risks of excessive house price inflation, as property values now significantly exceed long-term averages relative to rents and household incomes. Access to the Help to Buy scheme should be tightened, and buyers should be required to put down bigger deposits for mortgages”.

In response to the report, Mr Osborne said: “I’ve said we should be vigilant about the housing market and this Government has given the Bank of England the power and the tools to do what they felt needed to be done to help to contribute to building a resilient economy in an independent way”.

The Help to Buy scheme enables the Government to place a second charge on properties purchased under the scheme, allowing them to have some degree of profitability and allow them a small degree of control over the UK property market.

People buying property worth up to £600,000 (GBP) using a deposit of just 5% may be grateful of the Government’s help but many fail to realise the full implications of the scheme, or spot the Government tactic of controlling properties.

The Government either top up the purchasers 5% deposit with 20% of the property’s value or it will underwrite a portion of the debt allowing lenders to advance purchasers with high loan-to-value mortgages that the Government guarantee.

The £600,000 (GBP) upper limit of the Help-To-Buy scheme has been widely criticised for being too high, however, recent figures show that the average cost of a property bought using the scheme was just £148,000 (GBP).

Concerns are rife that another property bubble may be formed in the UK property market following a continuing run of positive house price trends.

Mortgage lender, Nationwide recently reported that property values had risen by 10.9% during the last 12 months, the first time annual house price inflation has reached double figures since April 2010.

Data from the Land Registry also shows that average property prices in London have already surpassed the previous 2007 peak.

Recent property price increases have caused the typical average cost of residential property in the UK to rise to £262,770 (GBP), according to Zoopla.

New regulations to control borrowing were introduced at the end of April 2014 to ensure prospective property owners are not risking taking on too much debt.

Under the Mortgage Market Review, lenders are required to carry out stringent affordability checks, including making sure borrowers can continue to meet the mortgage repayments if and when interest rates rise.

However, data on the number of mortgage approvals for residential property purchases appear to suggest that the market may be moderating, with the Bank of England reporting a dip in loan approvals for the second consecutive month during March 2014.