The haart estate agencies in Borehamwood and Colindale have been inundated by house purchasers keen to take advantage of the Government’s newly extended Help to Buy scheme.

Five times as many people as usual contacted haart, part of the UK’s largest independent estate agency and twice as many actually registered to buy after David Cameron brought forward the start date of the latest phase of the scheme.

Purchasers now only need a minimum deposit of 5% whether the property is old or new, which means more people than ever can now obtain a mortgage.

This means the required deposit for an average mortgage will reduce from £33,948 to £7,218 nationally, and from over £60,000 in London to £12,800, according to Spicerhaart and CML data.

Paul Smith, haart Chief Executive, said: “We’re one of the first agencies to respond to the Government’s change in legislation by having Help to Buy advisers in all our branches.

“As such, we’ve seen incredible interest from people wanting to get on or move up the ladder, making this our busiest October for nine years. This means there has never been a better time to sell, as second steppers – ie those already in their first owned homes – recognise there’s a lot of pent up demand from first time buyers.”

Until now, Help to Buy was only available to buyers of new-build properties up to £600,000 where the Government provided an equity loan of up to 20%, interest free for five years.

The new scheme now includes all properties, old and new, with the Government underwriting the lender’s risk by being a guarantor for up to 15% of the loan.

In both cases, the purchaser will need a minimum deposit of 5% of the purchase price and funds are also required to cover stamp duty, legal fees and moving costs. Borrowers will have to meet the scheme’s various requirements. Properties bought for investment purposes are excluded.

Mr Smith added: “We predict that property transactions will rise by 11% over next 12 months, which will moderate the current excess demand in the market, taking the pressure off house prices. We see house prices rising only moderately in the coming months.”
haart will be providing regular advice videos and information via its website, www.haart.co.uk. People can also call their local branches between 8am and 10pm on 0208 953 1212 for Borehamwood or 020 8205 9797 for Colindale.