Help to Buy (equity loan scheme): data to 31 December 2020
Published 13 May 2021
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2021
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-data-to-31-december-2020/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-data-to-31-december-2020
Date of next publication: It is expected that the March 2021 Help to Buy: Equity Loan statistics will be published in July/August 2021. The date will be pre-announced on the GOV.UK publication release calendar
1. Key statistics
Between 01 October and 31 December 2020 21,026 properties were bought with an equity loan, an increase of 40% from the same period in 2019.
From 1 April 2013 to 31 December 2020,313,043 properties were bought with an equity loan.
The total value of these equity loans so far totals £18.9 billion.
The value of the properties sold under the scheme totals £86 billion.
82% of all completions are by first-time buyers.
Help to Buy: Equity Loan completions will be affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the government measures taken to reduce transmission of the virus.
In England, Help to Buy: Equity Loan completions between April and June, the periods when the restrictions of movement were most in effect, were down by 61% against the respective months in 2019. However, completions in the three months to September 2020 were up 12% compared to the same period in 2019, while completions in the three months to December 2020 were the highest recorded, up by 40% against the same period in 2019.
2. Value of Equity Loans and Properties
2.1 Overall figures from 1 April 2013 to 31 December 2020
Statistics for Help to Buy: Equity Loan are based on legal completion dates for transactions under the scheme as operated in England and cover the period from the launch of the scheme on 1 April 2013 to 31 December 2020. Monthly and quarterly figures are also provided and can be found in the Accompanying Tables.
Between April 2013 and 31 December 2020, 313,043 properties were sold through Help to Buy: Equity Loan, using a total value of equity loans of £18.9 billion. These equity loans supported the purchase of £86 billion worth of property.
Between April 2013 and 31 December 2020, First Time Buyers accounted for 82% of total home purchases. 257,520 properties were bought by First Time Buyers through Help to Buy: Equity Loan using a total value of equity loans of £15.4 billion. The overall value of properties sold to First Time Buyers total £68.5 billion.
2.2 Quarterly figures for Q4 2020
In Q4 2020 (01 October to 31 December 2020) there were 21,026 properties sold through Help to Buy: Equity Loan, using a total value of equity loans of £1,515 million. These equity loans supported the purchase of £6,744 million worth of property. Of these 21,026 properties, 17,348 (83 per cent) were bought by First Time Buyers, using a total value of equity loans of £1,246 million to purchase property worth a total of £5,406 million.
The total number of completions in Q4 2020 were up by 58 per cent compared to the previous quarter, while they were up by 40 per cent compared to Q4 2019.
Every region of England followed a similar pattern of completions during 2020, with completions in Q1 and Q2 being significantly below those of 2019. Completions in Q3 2020 were, on average, up 12% compared to 2019 (ranging from a 0% change in London to a 22% increase in the North East). In Q4 2020, all regions saw a large increase (average of 40%) in completions against 2019, with the North East and London seeing the largest increases of 53% and 52% respectively.
The percentages on the graph below show the changes in completions from Q4 2019 to Q4 2020.
Total number of home purchases completed under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, Quarterly from Q1 2018 to Q4 2020, by English Region
The quarterly breakdown of total completions, equity loan value and purchase value are available in the accompanying tables
2.3 Annual Figures
For England, home purchases completed under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme totalled 49,714 in the year to 31 December 2020, down by 5% compared with the year to 31 December 2019 (52,246 completions). First Time Buyers bought 41,074 properties under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme in the year to 31 December 2020, down by 5% compared with the year to 31 December 2019 (43,384 completions)
The table and graph below presents figures the year ending 31 December 2014 to the year ending 31 December 2020. Monthly breakdowns are available in the accompanying tables.
Total number of home purchases, value of equity loans and total purchase price of properties completed under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, for the year ending 31 December 2014 to the year ending 31 December 2020
| Date | Completions | Total Value of Equity Loans (£m) | Total Value of Properties (£m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year to 31 December 2014 | 28,377 | 1,226 | 6,161 |
| Year to 31 December 2015 | 31,845 | 1,470 | 7,404 |
| Year to 31 December 2016 | 38,411 | 2,096 | 9,898 |
| Year to 31 December 2017 | 46,295 | 2,911 | 12,994 |
| Year to 31 December 2018 | 52,132 | 3,446 | 15,214 |
| Year to 31 December 2019 | 52,246 | 3,627 | 15,765 |
| Year to 31 December 2020 | 49,714 | 3,593 | 15,707 |
| Total | 313,043 | 18,936 | 85,983 |
Total number of home purchases completed under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, for the year ending 31 December 2014 to the year ending 31 December 2020, including figures for first time buyers and purchases completed in London
The graph above shows that the number of properties bought using the Help to Buy: Equity Loan gradually increased from the year ending December 2014 to the year ending December 2019. There was a decline in the year ending December 2020, which can be attributed in a large part to the restrictions introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
2.4 Help to Buy in London
Since the launch of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme on 1 April 2013 to 31 December 2020, 29,259 properties were bought with an equity loan in London.
In the year to 31 December 2020, 6,213 home purchases were completed under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan in London, down by -1% on the year to 31 December 2019 (6,300 completions). In London, First Time Buyers bought 5,904 properties under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme in the year to 31 December 2020, down by -3% on the year to 31 December 2019 (6,084 completions).
In London, the maximum equity loan was increased from 20% to 40% in February 2016, since then to 31 December 2020 there were 25,028 completions in London. Of these, 22,242 were made with an equity loan higher than 20% and 19,629 were made with an equity loan of exactly 40% of the purchase price, showing that most home purchases completed in London under the scheme used the full 40% equity loan available to them.
3. Property Purchase Price
The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme can be used to purchase a new build property up to the value of £600,000, with a maximum equity loan of £120,000 (20 per cent). In Greater London, the maximum equity loan is £240,000 (40 per cent). Since April 2013, the mean purchase price of properties bought with a Help to Buy Equity Loan was £274,668, with a mean loan of £60,490.
The table below shows the number of homes purchased under Help to Buy: Equity Loan to 31 December 2020 by purchase price. 32 per cent of Help to Buy: Equity Loan completions were for homes worth £200,000 or less. About 46 per cent of properties acquired through the scheme had a purchase price ranging between £200,001- £350,000 and 22 per cent had a purchase price greater than £350,000. Overall, 51 per cent of the homes purchased to 31 December 2020 had a price of £250,000 or less.
The price of properties acquired by First Time Buyers through Help to Buy: Equity Loan follows a similar pattern, with 55 per cent of properties having a value at the point of sale of £250,000 or less.
Cumulative number of legal completions to 31 December 2020 , by purchase price, England.
| Purchase Price | Completions (First Time Buyers) | Percentage (First Time Buyers) | Completions (Total) | Percentage (Total) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £0 - 125,000 | 12,765 | 5% | 13,322 | 4% |
| £125,000 - 150,000 | 20,003 | 8% | 21,310 | 7% |
| £150,000 - 200,000 | 57,620 | 22% | 64,134 | 20% |
| £200,000 - 250,000 | 50,625 | 20% | 60,233 | 19% |
| £250,000 - 350,000 | 65,027 | 25% | 84,357 | 27% |
| £350,000 - 500,000 | 38,734 | 15% | 53,282 | 17% |
| £500,000 - 600,000 | 12,746 | 5% | 16,405 | 5% |
| Total | 257,520 | 100% | 313,043 | 100% |
The graph below shows the change in median purchase price for first time buyers and non first time buyers for purchases made with a Help to Buy: Equity Loan. All of this data can be found in Table 4, 4a and 4b in the tables accompanying this release.
The graph shows that all purchase prices have been steadily getting higher since the start of the scheme in 2013, the purchase prices of properties bought by non first time buyers has continually been above that of first time buyers.
Average purchase price of property sold under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by calendar year, England.
More information on the purchase price of properties bought with the help of a Help to Buy: Equity Loan is available in Tables 4, 4a and 4b accompanying this release
4. Type of Property
The table below shows the number of properties sold under Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme by property type. Help to Buy has mainly supported the purchase of houses. Up to 31 December 2020, 18 per cent of all transactions were for flats and 82 per cent were for houses, split among detached, semi-detached and terraced houses, and two bungalows. Proportionally, First Time Buyers purchased more flats, terraced and semi-detached properties, but fewer detached houses than existing owners.
Cumulative number of legal completions to 31 December 2020 , by property type, England.
| Property Type | Completions (First Time Buyers) | Percentage (First Time Buyers) | Completions (Total) | Percentage (Total) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | 66,616 | 26% | 98,758 | 32% |
| Semi-detached | 86,798 | 34% | 100,706 | 32% |
| Terraced | 50,098 | 19% | 57,086 | 18% |
| Flat | 53,981 | 21% | 56,462 | 18% |
| Bungalow | 2 | 0% | 3 | 0% |
| Unrecorded | 25 | 0% | 28 | 0% |
| Total | 257,520 | 100% | 313,043 | 100% |
5. Purchaser deposits
More than a half (54 per cent) of all home purchases were made with a deposit up to 5% of the property purchase price at the point of sale and 23 per cent with a deposit ranging between 5% and 10%. The remaining 23 per cent were made by purchasers who paid a deposit of 10% of the property value or more.
A greater proportion of First Time Buyers (58 per cent) put down a deposit of 5% per cent or less of the property purchase price, compared with existing home-owners (36 per cent). There was also a difference between the proportion of First Time Buyers (10 per cent) and non-First Time Buyers (29 per cent) that used a deposit of more than 15%.
6. Applicant Household incomes
The household income of purchasers of properties under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme is recorded for each completion in the scheme. ‘Total applicant household income’ reported below refers to the total income for the household, regardless of how many members of that household are making the purchase.
Cumulative number of legal completions, to 31 December 2020, by total applicant household income, England.
| Total Applicant Household Income | Completions (First Time Buyers) | Percentage (First Time Buyers) | Completions (Total) | Percentage (Total) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £0 - 20,000 | 4,088 | 2% | 4,494 | 1% |
| £20,000 - 30,000 | 28,965 | 11% | 31,890 | 10% |
| £30,000 - 40,000 | 51,180 | 20% | 58,303 | 19% |
| £40,000 - 50,000 | 56,098 | 22% | 67,013 | 21% |
| £50,000 - 60,000 | 42,224 | 16% | 53,125 | 17% |
| £60,000 - 80,000 | 44,512 | 17% | 58,952 | 19% |
| £80,000 - 100,000 | 17,754 | 7% | 23,473 | 7% |
| More than £100,000 | 12,699 | 5% | 15,793 | 5% |
| Total | 257,520 | 100% | 313,043 | 100% |
To 31 December 2020, 50 per cent of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan borrowers had household incomes between £20,000 and £50,000. Only 1 and 5 per cent of applicants had household incomes below £20,000 and above £100,000 respectively. The majority of First Time Buyers (53 per cent) using Help to Buy: Equity Loan to purchase a property had household incomes ranging between £20,000 and £50,000.
The graph below shows a similar pattern to the graph above regarding purchase price of properties. The median total applicant household income (the combined income of applicants using a Help to Buy: Equity Loan) has gradually increased since 2013 with first time buyers typically having a lower household income compared to non first time buyers.
Median total applicant household income under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by calendar year, England
The data for this graph can be found in the tables which accompany this release.
7. Accompanying tables
Accompanying tables are available to download alongside this release:
Table 1 Number and value of Help to Buy: Equity Loans (quarterly), by local authority, England
Table 1b Number and value of Help to Buy: Equity Loans (quarterly) for first time buyers, by local authority, England
Table 2 Number and value of Help to Buy: Equity Loans (monthly), England
These tables can be accessed from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-data-to-31-december-2020
The statistical release Tables 1- 9b are also available to download from the link above.
In addition, legacy Help to Buy: NewBuy tables are also available at the link above. These tables have not been updated. For more information please see the Help to Buy: NewBuy text in the definitions and user engagement sections.
Table 3 Cumulative number of Help to Buy: NewBuy completions (since March 2012) by local authority, England
Table 10 Number of legal completions, Government liability (£m), and cost to Government (£m) under the Help to Buy: NewBuy Guarantee scheme, England
8. Technical Notes
Please see the accompanying technical notes document for further details.
9. Enquiries
Media enquiries: Office hours: 0303 444 1209
Email: NewsDesk@communities.gov.uk
Public enquiries and Responsible Statistician: Niall McSharry
Email: housing.statistics@communities.gov.uk
Information on Official Statistics is available via the UK Statistics Authority website. Information about statistics at MHCLG is available via the Department’s website.