Home Builders Federation (HBF) have analysed the impact that the scheme has had, and implores for its return
The latest HBF report into the Help to Buy scheme, titled Payback Time, uses government data to reveal the uplift received from the scheme.
It found that, with over a third of a million utilising the scheme to purchase a home, and nearly half of the loans being fully repaid, the government received £1.02bn in returns.
The benefits of the Help to Buy scheme are still being felt
Even now, interest and repayments for the remaining loans are generating £1m per day for the Exchequer, and the final figure when all loans are complete is expected to be more than £2bn.
The interest alone from completed loans has so far created a profit of £358m.
The report also highlights that the scheme helped 387,195 households into homeownership, of which 328,346 were first-time buyer households. Of the total, 181,437 have fully paid off their loans, leading to the 10.3% (£1.02bn) uplift and the £358m in interest.
For taxpayers in 2024/25, a profit of £434.1m was achieved, and the scheme has supported £86bn in economic activity, including increases for housebuilding, and has generated over £10bn in tax receipts.
Neil Jefferson, chief executive at the Home Builders Federation, said: “Help to Buy has clearly delivered for both aspiring homeowners and the taxpayer. Nearly half of the loans have now been repaid, returning over £1bn in profit on loan values alone, and more than £1.3bn in total returns.
“This is a powerful example of a housing policy that worked. It boosted supply, supported jobs, and enabled hundreds of thousands of people to realise their dream of home ownership.
“With affordability so constrained for prospective first-time buyers, it is frustrating that no support for home ownership is in place today. We need a new targeted scheme that will support young people, helping them overcome barriers to homeownership and ensuring the next generation can access affordable and sustainable mortgage finance.”
Make-or-break for the housebuilding industry
Writing for PBC Today in October, Emma Ramell, director of external affairs at the HBF, spoke about why support for first-time buyers (such as the Help to Buy scheme) must be featured in the upcoming Autumn Budget.
Emma wrote: “It is little surprise that viability has reached a breaking point. In recent years, home builders have been confronted with a growing array of new policy costs, taxes, and regulations. According to recent research by Zoopla, building new homes is now financially unviable across almost half (48%) of the country.
“While many of these individual policies, from Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and the Residential Property Developer Tax (RPDT) to the forthcoming Future Homes Standard, are well-intentioned, their cumulative impact and rapid introduction have placed intolerable pressure on the industry.
She continued: “One area where the Government has consistently fallen short is in helping first-time buyers (FTBs) take that all-important first step onto the property ladder.
“For aspiring homeowners, the barriers keep mounting. Stretched affordability ratios, limited access to mortgage finance, and punishing transaction costs have combined to make home ownership an increasingly distant dream, particularly for those without family wealth to fall back on.
“The latest data from the Office for National Statistics, published in September, paints a bleak picture. In London, the average property is now unaffordable even to households in the top 10% of earners. Across the South East, South West and East of England, only those in the highest income decile can afford the average home.
“Unsurprisingly, without a realistic market for new homes, investment in new sites and labour is being limited. To overcome these challenges, the Government could provide assistance for first-time buyers at the Budget in the form of a new equity loan scheme part-funded by home builders.”
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