Copy article

Jeremy Hunt offers help to FTBs

Journalist: Jake Carter, Mortgage Introducer

ended 26. October 2023

Jeremy Hunt is drawing up a package of support to help first-time buyers get on to the property ladder ahead of the autumn statement next month.

Options being considered include extending the government’s mortgage guarantee scheme, and creating a new type of individual savings account targeted at people looking to build up a deposit to buy their first home. 

Is this something you have been calling for? Do you believe it will be enough to support the FTB market?

What would you like to see from the government in terms of support for FTBs?

What is the current outlook of the FTB market?

11 responses from the Newspage community

Copy all

Copy

Editor
Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
The last thing we need is more confusion, what we need is simplicity and clarity. The savings scheme is just re-inventing the wheel and lacking real imagination as there is the LISA and Help to Buy ISA. This is more likely to confuse First Time Buyers as they will want to make sure they have access to the best scheme at the time. Devil in the detail as always and likely a smoke screen and more hot air! More challenging is the cost of living, mortgage rates, house prices, deposits vs income etc
Copy

Editor
Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
The mortgage guarantee scheme is obsolete and re-offering the Help to Buy ISA is hardly groundbreaking, especially as Lifetime ISAs do the same thing and are still available. It will take a lot more than these bad ideas to help first-time buyers.
Copy

Platinum
Elliott Culley
Director at Switch Mortgage Finance
Nothing revolutionary here and nothing that will make what is already a difficult task any easier for first-time buyers. First-time buyers are the lifeblood of any functioning mortgage market and we need to make things easier for them. Let's wait for the finer detail but more savings accounts does not sound too appealing.
Copy

Premium
Elliott Benson
Owner at Sett Mortgages
At last some support! I haven't noticed a drop in first time buyer numbers however there has been very little to encourage new home owners since the mortgage guarantee scheme. There's no Help to Buy anymore and no other well publicised schemes to help first time buyers onto the ladder. Hopefully this will actually amount to something and not just be a load of hot air ahead of the Autumn statement
Copy

Scott Taylor-Barr
Principal Adviser at Barnsdale Financial Management
A "new type of individual savings account targeted at people looking to build up a deposit", isn't that what the LISA is and the Help-To-Buy ISA before that? I'm not sure giving the same thing another new name qualifies it as "new". Helping first-time buyers is going to take big, radical ideas, not another rehash of existing or previous schemes.
Copy

Peter Stamford
Mortgage Expert at Stamford Home Finance
Jeremy's mortgage solutions are a bit like reheated leftovers—lacking in flavour and originality. First-time buyers need more than yesterday's ideas; they need proper plans to make homeownership a reality. Time for some fresh thinking!
Copy

Steven Hargreaves
Mortgage and Protection Adviser at The Mortgage Co
An interesting approach to extend the mortgage guarantee scheme, as many lenders offer 95% mortgages outside of the mortgage guarantee scheme, it would unlikely to stimulate the first time buyer market.
Whilst bringing out a new First time buyer ISA, will be welcome, I think affordability and confidence are bigger issues that need dealing with.
Copy

Martin O'Callaghan
Head of Marketing at HLPartnership
A thriving housing market depends on supporting first-time buyers. As property prices rise and economic pressures mount, many young people are trapped in the rental cycle. Homeownership is more than a financial investment—it fosters community, offers stability, and facilitates generational wealth transfer all of which contribute to a sustainable economy. To tackle this, we need:

1. Financial Education: Equip the youth with knowledge about the housing market.
2. Government Incentives: Offer incentives to ease the buying process.
3. Innovative Housing: Explore affordable, sustainable housing models.

The government will need to support the first-time buyer market as without it there could be problems in the future.
Copy

Jonathan Burridge
Founding Adviser at We Are Money
It's the same old shit, put in a new bag. We need new thinking. HTB and BTL (plus artificially low interest rates) have caused the rampant property price inflation that is making ownership so difficult. What about a new home scheme with restrictive covenants preventing their future letting and limits ownership to first-time buyers, CGT Moratorium or reduction for landlords that sell properties from their portfolio to FTB'ers, restrict sales to UK residents and of course, more affordable housing that isn't just 1 or 2 bed flats. I am not saying these are the answers, but, its time to be creative not sell yesterdays bread as freshly baked today.
Copy

Gareth Davies
Director at South Coast Mortgage Services
How many different ISAs designed to help in home ownership do we actually need? Have any of the previous versions really helped?
We need someone with innovative ideas on how to help, not someone regurgitating the same old and arguably failing methods.

Whilst it was more of a marketing ploy, Skipton had the right idea with their 100% track record offering earlier this year. With a bit of tweaking, this is the kind of thing FTBs need.
Copy

Austyn Johnson
Founder at Mortgages For Actors
As always, affordability is key for FTB's. Especially if looking at London. If anything can be done with affordability, it will help. Essentially this is what the HTB loans did, but I dont know if we will see those return for a while.