The number of people using the UK government's Help-to-Buy equity loan scheme fell by a third during Q1 2017, with just 8,223 households participating. While a significant slowdown in UK property contributed, chief property economist at Capital Economics, Ed Stansfield, said the slump was consistent with normal seasonal volatility, and that year-over-year, the scheme had issued 21% more equity loans for the quarter. However, he added that it is likely to be an "uphill struggle" for investors as they try to get their money out before interest rates rise again.
The number of people using the UK government's Help-to-Buy equity loan scheme fell by a third during Q1 2017, with just 8,223 households participating. While a significant slowdown in UK property contributed, chief property economist at Capital Economics, Ed Stansfield, said the slump was consistent with normal seasonal volatility, and that year-over-year, the scheme had issued 21% more equity loans for the quarter. Since its inception in April 2013, the equity loan scheme has been used by 120,864 households to buy property - 81% were first-time buyers.