Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help those with a Help to Buy ISA benefit from the discount rate, which is at £250,000 housing value, to purchase a property.

The Help to Buy: ISA scheme aims to help those struggling to save enough to get onto the housing ladder. First-time buyers who choose to save through a Help to Buy: ISA will be eligible for a government bonus when purchasing their first home, provided that the value of the property does not exceed £250,000 outside London (£450,000 within London) and that they meet the scheme’s other eligibility criteria. The Government provides a 25 per cent bonus based on the account holder’s balance with a maximum bonus value of £3,000.

The property price caps under the scheme allow the Government to target support at the people the scheme is intended to help. The latest statistics show that since the scheme was launched in 2015, 460,567 property completions have been supported through the scheme with a mean property value of £175,680, compared to an average first-time buyer house price of £230,593.

In addition to the Help to Buy: ISA, The Government has introduced a number of measures to further support homeownership, including the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, mortgage guarantee scheme, Shared Ownership schemes, and the First Homes scheme.

Each scheme has its own eligibility criteria and more information on each scheme can be found on the Own Your Home (HM Government) website: https://www.ownyourhome.gov.uk/