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| Help to Buy: Almost 750 homes bought, government says | Help to Buy: Almost 750 homes bought, government says |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Almost 750 homes have been bought via the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, Downing Street has said. | Almost 750 homes have been bought via the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, Downing Street has said. |
| The UK-wide scheme, started in October, lets people buy homes with a deposit as small as 5% of the total cost. | The UK-wide scheme, started in October, lets people buy homes with a deposit as small as 5% of the total cost. |
| Liberal Democrat Vince Cable recently said it should be reassessed in light of a "raging housing boom" in London and the South East. | Liberal Democrat Vince Cable recently said it should be reassessed in light of a "raging housing boom" in London and the South East. |
| But Prime Minister David Cameron has said the scheme stops people being frozen out of the housing market. | But Prime Minister David Cameron has said the scheme stops people being frozen out of the housing market. |
| Releasing figures from the start of the scheme up to 18 December, Downing Street said almost 750 homes had been bought and about 6,000 people had made offers on properties. | Releasing figures from the start of the scheme up to 18 December, Downing Street said almost 750 homes had been bought and about 6,000 people had made offers on properties. |
| 'Very different circumstances' | 'Very different circumstances' |
| The figures come from RBS and Lloyds Banking Group, the two lenders which joined the scheme from the start. | The figures come from RBS and Lloyds Banking Group, the two lenders which joined the scheme from the start. |
| Before Christmas Mr Cable, the Business Secretary, said the scheme was "conceived in very different circumstances" and should now be re-examined. | Before Christmas Mr Cable, the Business Secretary, said the scheme was "conceived in very different circumstances" and should now be re-examined. |
| "There is a raging housing boom in London and the South East - not in other parts of the country," he said. | "There is a raging housing boom in London and the South East - not in other parts of the country," he said. |
| Mr Cable said this created a problem because the boom could get "out of control" unless interest rates were raised - but doing this would "hit those parts of the country which are not yet fully recovered". | Mr Cable said this created a problem because the boom could get "out of control" unless interest rates were raised - but doing this would "hit those parts of the country which are not yet fully recovered". |
| But BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said: "Other ministers will point out that around three quarters of Help to Buy mortgage applications come from elsewhere in the country." | But BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said: "Other ministers will point out that around three quarters of Help to Buy mortgage applications come from elsewhere in the country." |
| For Labour, shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds said housebuilding needed to be increased. | |
| She said: "Any help for first time buyers struggling to get on the property ladder is to be welcomed. But rising demand for housing must be matched with rising supply if this scheme is to bring the cost of housing within the reach of low and middle income earners." | |
| Under the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, the government allows lenders to buy a seven-year "guarantee" - backed by the taxpayer - covering 15% of the loan value in case the borrower defaults. | Under the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, the government allows lenders to buy a seven-year "guarantee" - backed by the taxpayer - covering 15% of the loan value in case the borrower defaults. |