Second phase of Government’s “Help to buy” brought forward

The PM has announced that the full Help to Buy scheme will start within days. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, David Cameron said the scheme would be brought forward from January 2014 to this week. In the interview he insists that it is the right policy to tackle the “broken” housing market which requires young professionals, such as teachers and nurses to provide a £40,000 or £50,000 deposit. “If you haven’t got rich parents you can’t get that sort of money, so the scheme comes forward, starting next week. That is a major move in terms of backing aspiration and home ownership which is something very close to my heart.” Elsewhere, the Sunday Times’ Kathryn Cooper says that first-time buyers could be priced out of the scheme as the Treasury seeks to limit the risks of a bubble. Analysts said the Treasury could also manipulate the fees, setting the bar higher for the riskiest loans to dampen demand. Fees could start at 0.5% of the insured amount for mortgages between 80% to 85%, but could be far higher for riskier loans between 90% to 95% of the value of the property.