HTB could be scrapped amid fears it's helping the wealthy

phillw

HPC_Ghuol_Hunter wrote: »

Do they not deserve what you have buddy?

Nobody deserves to own a home. The barrier to owning something is money.

We're on a downward trend, which will only be accelerated more by brexit & government meddling with house prices. There are no quick fixes.

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Galiford Try have stated today that profits have increased 145% on last year backed by Help to Buy and a cut in stamp duty.

The figures aren't particularly impressive.

"Pre-tax profits climbed to £143.7m in the year to June 30, from £58.7m in the previous fiscal year. The fiscal 2017 figure was knocked by a one-off charge of £98m. Excluding exceptional items, earnings rose 28 per cent in the 2018 fiscal year, quicker than the 9 per cent recorded in 2017."

To fund future projects they've had to cut dividends. Builders don't just magic houses out of thin air and then charge what they want for them. If they can't make a fair profit, then they will just stop building houses. Wait and see what that does to house prices.

triathlon

See GD is still on his quest to see lives ruined in order to cover up his failures in life, so sad

mayonnaise

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Galiford Try have stated today that profits have increased 145% on last year backed by Help to Buy and a cut in stamp duty.

Housing completions have risen just 13%, with average selling prices up 11%, but the firm state that should the government wish to see a further increase in housing, schemes like HTB must be continued.

Meanwhile, new figures out suggest that help to buy purchases cost 8% more than buying the very same house without HTB.

It's all gone a little insane.

Your obsession with HTB has gone a little insane.

There is no data showing HTB putting upwards pressure on house prices.
To the contrary.
Areas with the smallest take up of HTB had the largest HPI, while areas with high HTB % of sales had the lowest HPI.



In conclusion: your often repeated claim that HTB is pushing up house prices is utterly false.

King_Nothing

I certainly don't feel wealthy, feel comfortable, "wealthy" is a bit of an overstretch. Used HTB to buy our first house, pretty happy with it.

Computer_Beginner

Of course it's a scheme to help the wealthy!
Why else would the govt do it? They want to help their friends out.

But it does have the effect of increasing the amount of houses built.
So eventually, it will help reduce house prices.
But not yet.

The-Joker

Help to bubble was always to blow the bubble even bigger

kingstreet

We have found HTB Equity Loan very useful, particularly in parts of Shropshire and Staffordshire. Under no circumstances could the purchasers be described as wealthy.

A reduction in the maximum purchase price, similar to those in Scotland and Wales might be worthy of serious consideration.

homeless9

It depends what you mean by 'wealthy'. If the person(s) trying to buy the shared ownership property don't have enough to purchase the same or similar sized property in the area at the full price, then they should have the right to buy into a Shared Ownership property, as long as they aren't taking the biscuit and applying for a massive house with 2 or more bedrooms than they need.

If you can't afford to buy the same property at full price then in the context of Help To Buy - you are not 'wealthy' enough.

What I will say is....... some Help To Buy apartments where I live are ridiculously expensive....

£448,000 for a 2 bed apartment....

Based on taking out a 30% share:
£653 Rent.
£78 Service Charge.
+ Whatever mortgage payments you need to make.

This is a lot to pay. The people buying these properties probably do have enough money to afford a 2 bedroom flat at full price elsewhere in the town. It's pretty ridiculous that Help To Buy is even offered on these expensive properties. You can get 2 bedroom flats for £300,000 in the same town, yet it's these £448,000 properties that are offered through Help To Buy to the people struggling to get on the housing ladder.

Shouldn't Help To Buy properties be more modest homes built on the outskirts of towns, priced affordably in their valuation and charging affordable rents.

It doesn't make sense to build luxury apartments in town centres, right next to railway lines that go directly to London, smack a massive valuation on them, then offer them under a Help To Buy scheme which is supposed to help the less well-off. This is where you are actually helping the wealthy people who can afford a modest flat in the same town with the same amount of bedrooms, to get a more luxurious apartment in a better location.

kingstreet

This thread is about HTB Equity Loan, not Shared Ownership, h9.

Unfortunately, HMG decided to muddy the waters by tagging everything HTB, so we get confusion over what exactly is being discussed.

Teamocil

"Look over there! That guy's got a cheap loan that it's debatable whether or not he needed!"

Meanwhile the house builders make off with tens of millions. Classic misdirection.