Help to Buy has boosted the supply of new homes but the scheme has mostly benefited the well-off who did not need it to get on the property ladder, according to the public spending watchdog. The National Audit Office (NAO) is due to raise concerns today that almost two thirds of people using the scheme could have bought a home without the government’s help. The watchdog said that the scheme, under which the government has lent more than £11 billion to 211,000 homebuyers in five years, had exposed taxpayers to “significant market risk” if property values fell. Help to Buy was launched by the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government in 2013 to increase home ownership and boost housing supply. It offers buyers with…

Source: The Times June 12, 2019 23:07 UTC