Conveyancing Specialists Say First Time Buyers Will Welcome Move But House Prices Could Rise Due To Extra Demand

In his Budget speech today Chancellor George Osborne announced a new savings scheme available from Autumn 2015 for first time buyers.

The new Help to Buy Isa is intended to help first-time buyers get onto the property ladder by topping up savings with £50 for every £200 a first-time buyer saves as part of a deposit.

The maximum bonus available is £3,000 which would be paid if a first-time buyer saved £12,000 for a deposit on their first home. The Help to Buy Isa is available on houses worth £250,000 or less outside London, or £450,000 or less in the capital.

Helen Hutchison, a conveyancing specialist at Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, said: “The Help to Buy ISA is intended to get more first-time buyers onto the market by helping them save for a deposit. We’ve seen the number of property completions rise steadily over the past year and if more fist time buyers are able to make their step onto the housing ladder it will inevitably enable second and third time buyers to move up the chain.

“More buyers with deposits available will give the whole housing industry another boost but could potentially lead to house price rises and inflated values as there is much more competition at the bottom end of the market.”

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