Help to Buy added 15 percent to new homes but lifted prices

What the scheme was

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 15 September 2026.

Help to Buy ran in England from 2013 to 2023 and was built around an equity loan. Under Help to Buy 1, from 2013 to 2021, any buyer of a new build priced up to 600,000 pounds could take an equity loan of up to 20 percent of the purchase price, rising to 40 percent in London from February 2016. Help to Buy 2, from 2021 to 2023, was restricted to first-time buyers and operated with regional price caps. The loan was interest-free for five years, after which interest started at 1.75 percent and rose with inflation. The loan was repaid on sale at the property's new value, so the equity stake moved with the market.

The scale was substantial. Over 387,000 properties were bought through the scheme, 328,000 of them by first-time buyers, and total equity loans reached 24.7 billion pounds. Loans peaked at 55,617 in 2020/21. Around 250,000 customers still hold loans today. The evaluation was commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and delivered by Verian, Sheffield Hallam University's Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research and Alma Economics, published on 15 September 2026 and covering England from 2013 to 2023. Fieldwork ran from October 2024 to December 2025 and included a survey of 5,869 customers, 21 developer interviews, 12 lender interviews and 40 customer interviews.

Supply and home ownership

The clearest supply finding is that around 15 percent of new builds in England built from 2013 to 2023 were the result of the scheme. The effect was uneven across the country. Near the England and Wales border, around 15 to 30 percent of first-time buyer mortgage sales were attributable to Help to Buy, while there was little effect in areas that were already less affordable. Nationally, first-time buyer sales in England did not rise faster than in Scotland and Wales. When the scheme closed in 2023, first-time buyer mortgage sales in England fell by approximately 10 to 15 percent compared with what would have happened had it continued.

On home ownership, the customer evidence is mixed. 46 percent of customers said they could not have bought without the scheme, while 54 percent said they could have, often buying a bigger or higher quality home. Lenders and developers said it was common for buyers to purchase a larger or better property than they otherwise would have. Homes England data suggests 22 percent of Help to Buy 1 and 38 percent of Help to Buy 2 customers could not have met mortgage affordability for an average local first-time buyer home. The evaluation therefore points to a scheme that added to supply and helped a substantial minority buy who otherwise could not, while also enabling many purchases that would have happened anyway.

Prices and developer profits

Prices near the England and Wales border were around 2 percent higher than the Welsh-side trajectory, and there were larger increases in areas that were already less affordable. The new build premium was 5 percent for non-Help to Buy new builds and 6 percent for Help to Buy homes, meaning Help to Buy homes carried an additional 1 percent premium. The 2016 London increase to a 40 percent equity loan did not lead to a further rise in housing supply and points to a small negative effect on London first-time buyer numbers, of about 7,000 fewer a year, or 19 percent, between 2016 and 2020 on a difference-in-differences basis.

On the developer side, revenues, profit before tax and profit margins were positively and statistically significantly affected from 2016 to 2023 in the small and medium developer sample. Market share results were inconclusive. The evaluation does not treat these price effects as a social cost in its value for money calculation, because house price effects are treated as transfers under the Green Book. That accounting choice matters for how the headline value for money figure should be read: the supply effect drives the benefit, while the price effect redistributes between buyers, existing owners and developers rather than appearing as a net social gain or loss in the model.

Value for money and customer experience

Net present social value was estimated at 25.1 billion pounds in 2024/25 prices over April 2013 to March 2023, including projected redemption income to 2039/40. The evaluation describes this as a lower bound, and the figure is driven by supply. House price effects were excluded as transfers under the Green Book. Customer satisfaction was high on the property itself and lower on the scheme: 86 percent of customers were satisfied with their property and 71 percent with the scheme. Dissatisfaction was concentrated in the redemption process.

The report names specific problems with redemption. Customers dealt with multiple parties, faced short valuation windows and reported poor communication from the loan administrator. These are the practical pain points for the roughly 250,000 customers who still hold loans, alongside the interest step-up after year five, when the interest-free period ends and interest starts at 1.75 percent and rises with inflation. The evaluation's customer survey of 5,869 people, together with 40 customer interviews, underpins these findings. The pattern is a scheme that delivered broadly positive property outcomes for most participants but left a redemption process that generated friction for a significant minority.

What it means now

For existing customers, the interest step-up after year five and the redemption valuation process are the pain points the report names. For policy, the authors' lesson is that any future scheme should be explicit about who and which areas it is intended to benefit, because effects were strongest in affordable areas and weakest where deposits were already high. The evaluation also notes that today's context of higher rates and more 95 percent mortgages differs from 2013, when the scheme began. That context shapes both the demand for any successor and the way an equity loan would interact with the wider mortgage market.

Industry groups including the Home Builders Federation are lobbying for a return of Help to Buy. The Institute for Fiscal Studies, in 2026, has challenged the affordability gains. The evaluation itself sits between those positions: it finds a clear supply effect, around 15 percent of new builds over the decade, a positive net present social value of 25.1 billion pounds, and measurable price and developer profit effects. It also finds that around half of customers could have bought without the scheme, that the London 40 percent loan did not lift supply, and that the redemption process needs attention. Any successor scheme would be judged against those findings, and against the 250,000 customers still holding loans from the original.

Source: MHCLG: Evaluation of the Help to Buy scheme.

Related coverage on Kael Tripton: FCA Mortgage Rule Review CP26/18: What It Means for First-Time Buyers, Self-Employed and Older Borrowers, First-Time Buyer ISA: Government Launches Consultation to Replace Lifetime ISA, What Is the Help to Buy ISA? UK Meaning Explained, Help to Buy UK 2026: What Replaced It and the Alternatives Available Now, What Is shared ownership? UK Meaning Explained.

Frequently asked questions

How much of England's new build supply came from Help to Buy?

Around 15 percent of new builds in England built from 2013 to 2023 were the result of the scheme, according to the independent evaluation for MHCLG by Verian, Sheffield Hallam University and Alma Economics, published 15 September 2026.

How many homes were bought through Help to Buy?

Over 387,000 properties were bought through the scheme, 328,000 of them by first-time buyers. Total equity loans reached 24.7 billion pounds, loans peaked at 55,617 in 2020/21, and around 250,000 customers still hold loans.

Did Help to Buy push up house prices?

Prices near the England and Wales border were around 2 percent higher than the Welsh-side trajectory, with larger increases in already less affordable areas. The new build premium was 5 percent for non-Help to Buy new builds and 6 percent for Help to Buy homes.

What happened when the scheme closed in 2023?

Closure reduced first-time buyer mortgage sales in England by approximately 10 to 15 percent compared with what would have happened with the scheme in place.

What is the net present social value of Help to Buy?

The evaluation estimates net present social value at 25.1 billion pounds in 2024/25 prices over April 2013 to March 2023, including projected redemption income to 2039/40. It is described as a lower bound, driven by supply, with house price effects treated as transfers under the Green Book.