Henry Smith MP has welcomed new figures released this week showing that 720 families in Crawley have been able to realise their dream of home ownership thanks to the Government’s Help to Buy schemes.

Through the schemes, more than 400,000 families have gained a foot on the housing ladder since 2010. Families across the country are benefitting from the initiative with more than 84 per cent of completions using the Help to Buy ISA taking place outside of London.

Henry said;

“This is fantastic news for more than 700 families in Crawley who have been able to get the security of their own home through the Government’s Help to Buy schemes.

“This action is helping first-time buyers here in Crawley by cutting stamp duty so more young people get the keys to their first home.

“Home ownership need no longer be an unattainable dream as these figures show and it’s proof that the Government’s measures are helping more people to get on the housing ladder and have a safe and secure home.”

Help to Buy has two main schemes. One scheme, the equity loan, means buyers only need to raise 5 per cent of a property’s value for a deposit and the Government will stump up a loan of up to 20 per cent of the property’s value which is interest-free for five years. This scheme has helped 535 families in Crawley buy their home.

Another Help to Buy scheme allows future first-time buyers to take out an Individual Savings Account (ISA) which pays out a Government bonus of up to £3,000 towards the cost of a new home. In Crawley the Government have helped 185 families to buy a home.

In further good news for first-time buyers, 288,300 people have been able to achieve their dream of ownership thanks to the Government’s stamp duty reforms, new statistics show. First-time buyers have saved £680 million following changes announced by the Chancellor in the Budget 2017. The reforms mean 8 out of 10 first-time buyers now pay no stamp duty at all – benefitting almost all first-time buyers and providing the security that comes with a home.