According to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, the first three months of the British nation's Help-to-Buy program saw 6,000 mortgage applications. The Help-to-Buy program was launched by the UK government in its bid to help individuals and entities who can only shell out small downpayments to acquire homes or properties, a Bloomberg report said. The lucky applicants for the program will have the British government act as guarantor for bank loans. Help-to-Buy's second phase enabled buyers to apply for loans with as little as 5% downpayment on homes with prices at a minimum of £600,000.
In an emailed statement from the prime minister's office said a total of £1 billion or $1.65 billion in mortgages was sought under the program. The volume of applicants this year was noted to have tripled since the past figures were released to the public on November 11. Cameron also added in a statement that Barclays Plc and Banco Santander SA will be joining other banks who will be providing loans under Help-to-Buy.
Cameron stated, "The large number of applications for Help-to-Buy mortgages suggests the high loan-to-value part of the mortgage market is once again moving."
London-based property researcher Hometrack Ltd said the UK government's program has helped the surge of home demand, which rose 25% in 2013. Hometrack also said the supply of homes for auction only increased 6%, which resulted to higher prices across Wales and England by 4.4% and in the capital of UK by 9.1%.
In 12 weeks since the program started, Cameron said around 750 individuals have purchases homes under the government program. The report said home buyers were looking to acquire homes around £160,000, which is significantly lower than the going average of homes nationally at £247,000. According to the prime minister's statement, about 75% of the mortgage applications were from southeast England and outside London, and over 80% of the applicants are first-time home buyers.
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