Hands off Help to Buy property consultant tells EU

Bruton Knowles has leapt to the defence of the Government’s Help to Buy scheme in the face of accusations by European Union chiefs the programme is helping to fuel another damaging housing bubble.

Angus Taylor, Head of  the Building Consultancy team at Bruton Knowles’ Gloucester office,  says concern the Government rescue package is overheating the country’s housing market is way off the mark.

He comments: “Help to Buy is providing a lifeline for the West construction sector putting first time buyers on the property ladder boosting the region’s builders and the wider economy.

“Far from helping to inflate a housing bubble the latest figures have revealed a drop in the number of homes being built in the region.

“The Help to Buy scheme has been criticised for inflating the housing market, but the housing boom is only  evident within the M25. In fact, Help to Buy take up has been lower in the capital than it has been in the regions.”

The Help to Buy scheme run into criticism from Brussels, where the European Commission  has instructed George Osborne to rein in his flagship programme in order to put the brakes on soaring house prices.

Angus Taylor said: “The housing boom is very much confined to London and the Home Counties – outside the M25 the picture is far more complicated with some areas reporting strong growth, others moderate growth and some areas reporting no growth at all.

“Putting the brakes on Help to Buy will not help the regions outside of the capital.”