Many of the sentiments in this thread echo my own ; The housing situation in this country is dire, and has disadvantaged an entire generation.
I've followed the housing market closely since 2010. Seeing the interventions and interference put in place by parliament has made me realise how disturbingly corrupt our government and financial system actually is.
The government relies on house price inflation to skew economic indicators in a favourable manner - it increases money supply, and ostensibly the wealth of a significant proportion of the voting demographic (mainly older people). It also positively impacts GDP; House prices and rents are both included in GDP. Even imputed rents for home owners (what a home owner would be paying in rent to live in their house) are included.
Help to Buy is a twisted piece of marketing genius. Masqueraded as a scheme to help first time buyers, when in reality the purpose of the scheme has been to increase the profitability of banks, house builders and
benefit existing home owners through rising house prices.
There is some confusion on this thread over the help to buy scheme and how it works. There are several different versions of the scheme in operation, which I'll detail below;
Help to Buy:Equity Loan
Facilitated the purchase of new build properties with only a 5% deposit. The buyer contributes a 5% deposit, while the government provides a 20% equity loan, interest free for 5 years. The buyer would only have to secure a mortgage for 75% of the value of the property.
Because it specifically targeted new properties, it did result in the number of homes being built increasing slightly. The scheme's largest impact was on the profits and share prices of house building companies, which increased massively following the introduction of this scheme.
Help to Buy Mortgages
Introduced in 2013 in order to facilitate the reintroduction of 95% loan to value mortgages, for both new and old properties.
Following to the financial crisis, lenders were reluctant to lend more than 90% of property's value. Rather than allowing house prices to drop to a level at which a 10% deposit would be affordable, the government intervened.
The state will guarantee 20% of the mortgage value on specific 95% loan to value mortgages. Essentially, the state will hold the tab for the first 20% of losses, should the mortgage holder(s) default. This socialises the risk, while any profit will still go the bank.
This was
widely criticised and by far had the greatest impact on house prices, which up until it's introduction, were stagnating.
Help to Buy ISA
Introduced in 2015, aspiring home owners can deposit an initial £1000, followed by a maximum of £200 per month. The government will contribute 25% of what you save to the purchase of a house. The maximum you can save under this scheme is £12,000.
Rather cynically, assuming you save the maximum £200 per month, this scheme would mature late 2019/ early 2020, just in time to boost house prices in time for the election.
Help to Buy is just the tip of the ice berg in terms of what the government have done to maintain and inflate house prices further.
In order to move forward, we need increased housing supply, not increased credit or financialisation.
Sadly a solution to housing affordability will not be forthcoming. The government are completely in control....