The government will offer loans to help first-time buyers get on the property ladder, Chancellor George Osborne said on Wednesday23rd March 2011.

In his 2011 Budget, Osborne said the shared-equity scheme would cost 250 million pounds and be funded from the proceeds of last year’s bank levy.

“A new shared equity scheme, First Buy, will be available for first-time buyers who want to purchase a newly built property, but who cannot afford the high deposits,” Osborne told parliament.

“This will help 10,000 families get on to the housing ladder for the first time.”

Osborne also announced that he would extend for another year its “Support for Mortgage Interest” scheme, something he said would reduce mortgage arrears for around 100,000 out-of-work homeowners.

See http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/mar/26/first-time-buyer-firstbuy for more details.

Graeme

Well one of the big shouting points in the Chancellor’s speech this week was the (I quote) “I will double the stamp duty limit for FIRST TIME BUYERS from midnight tonight – from £125,000 to £250,000, for this year and next”

The matching properties team are delighted with this news and so should all you first time buyers out there, this is a big boost and will certainly be of help…

Happy house hunting and if you have any queries regarding the 2010 budget please drop us a email.

Graeme