Government could extend Help to Buy scheme

The UK government is still in talks with home builders to extend the Help to Buy scheme beyond April 2021. According to the latest reports, the Federation of Home Builders, who is responsible for delivering 80% of the homes that are built each year, is in talks with the UK government to extend the Help to Buy period.

The Coronavirus pandemic has caused the construction industry to stop, which translates into the delay in the delivery of more than 200,000 homes that were planned to be delivered this year.

Extending the “Help to Buy” beyond the initially planned date would mean a huge boost to sales, and help revive the home building industry.

“The home building industry is essential for the UK”

Kate Davies, Executive Director of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association, said: “The home building industry is vital to the UK, Help to Buy is one measure that can help us jumpstart and activate the industry again once the Coronavirus pandemic has finished.”

“We are very grateful to the government for analyzing an extension of the Help to Buy scheme. We know that the recovery will be very difficult and that the Coronavirus has severely affected all economic activities in the United Kingdom, that’s why the home building industry needs to reactivate its operations as soon as possible.”

“The threat from COVID-19 is high; there is a possibility that the construction industry will suffer big losses. However, Help to Buy will be a great incentive for new buyers and that will help revive our industry.”

“Any new home purchase made before the Help to Buy takes effect will be very cautious, so we expect sales to decrease until next year.”

“Help to Buy must extend until July 2021 or beyond”

Help to Buy is part of the economic measures taken by the UK government to soften the impact that the Coronavirus has had on economic activities. The measure that will take effect later this month seeks to incentivize first-time buyers and will have certain conditions in terms of price and type of property.

First-time buyers can access this benefit after meeting certain conditions. The government has declared that it will strictly observe the operation of this measure and will carry out the extensions it deems necessary.

Although major industrial sectors in the UK are expected to reactivate in the following months, a full economic recovery will only be possible after a full year.