LONDON: State-backed Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed in principle mortgages with 1,080 customers since Britain's flagship 'Help to Buy' housing stimulus programme was launched a month ago.
The Conservative government is
pushing the plan, with a 2015 election in mind, as a way to help people
move onto, or up, the property ladder, and stimulate growth after three
years of economic stagnation.
RBS, which owns NatWest,
said 73 percent of the mortgages were for first-time buyers. If all of
the applications are approved, the bank will be lending 171.6 million
pounds under the scheme.
It said the average
amount its customers wanted to borrow was 159,000 pounds and the average
price of the home they wanted to buy was 167,565 pounds.
"These are majority young
first-time buyers who, without 'Help to Buy', wouldn't have been able
to consider a mortgage or buy a home," said Lloyd Cochrane, head of mortgages at NatWest and RBS.
Meanwhile Halifax, owned by RBS's part-nationalised rival Lloyds Banking Group, said it had received 1,309 mortgage applications from home buyers across the UK who have found a property to purchase.Halifax said the applications were for mortgages worth a total of 194 million pounds.
Critics say that unless the three-year scheme is properly scrutinised it could drive up house prices in sought-after areas like London and create a housing bubble that might burst when interest rates start to rise later this decade.
RBS is allowing customers
to draw down the funds before the scheme officially launches in January
and said 5 customers had already purchased new homes through the
scheme.- Reuters
Article Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2013/11/11/RBS-Agrees-1080-Mortgages-Through-UKs-Help-To-Buy-Scheme.aspxFREE ￡197 Property Download "5 Instant Ways to Raise Finance For Your Property Deals" http://tiny.cc/B-FreeGiveAway
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