The UK government's Help to Buy equity loan scheme, designed to assist first-time buyers with new-build purchases, has generated a profit of £1.74 billion for the Exchequer. This profit comes from £1.24 billion in returns on repaid loans and additional interest income. The scheme, which ran from 2013 to March 2023, supported 387,278 households in buying new homes.
Initially, independent evaluations by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Homes England projected a positive return on investment by the time all loans are repaid in 2048. By December 2018, £11.7 billion had been loaned, with £1.3 billion redeemed. Forecasts indicated the government would invest up to £29 billion, with net loans peaking at £25 billion by 2023. The scheme also led to a 14.5% increase in new home construction and enabled 37% of buyers (approximately 78,000 sales) to purchase a property they otherwise couldn't have.
Despite its success in boosting homeownership and housing supply, the scheme faced criticism for broad participation criteria that allowed some financially capable buyers to benefit, and for tying up significant government capital. Concerns were also raised about the risk of taxpayer losses during market downturns and the potential for negative equity, exacerbated by a new-build premium. However, the government has so far seen redemptions running ahead of expectations.
Financial analysts like Riz Malik from R3 Wealth suggest that a new iteration of Help to Buy could stimulate the current ailing property market, especially without significant interest rate cuts. Jamie Alexander from Alexander Southwell Mortgages proposed expanding a future scheme to include existing homes, which could help balance demand and mitigate the inflation of new-build prices. As of March 2026, over 55% (213,713) of the loans have been fully repaid, demonstrating a 10.4% positive return on investment for these closed accounts.
