Hundreds of buyers used Help to Buy ISAs to purchase first home in Blackpool and Wyre as some prices increase by 3%

Blackpool

The latest Treasury data shows 232 properties were expected to be bought in Blackpool with support from the Government's scheme in the year to March — down on 414 the year before.

Under the help-to-buy scheme, the Government tops up buyers' savings with a 25% bonus. The scheme closed for new applicants in November 2019, but 1,623 bonuses have been paid to individual buyers in Blackpool since its launch.

Married couples or partners can both claim for bonuses from separate ISAs to complete on a single property together.

Across the UK, 558,176 property completions have been carried through since the launch of the scheme in December 2015, with 1,265 of them in Blackpool. First-time buyers in Blackpool received an average of £1,155 per month on top of their savings. This was lower than the national average bonus of £1,217.

Ben Thompson, deputy CEO at the Mortgage Advice Bureau, said: "We remain hopeful that inflation and interest rates will peak in the next year, upping the pressure on mortgage rates to begin to fall. This should see more buyers using their Lifetime or Help to Buy ISAs to complete their purchases.”

New figures show a new house would cost first-time buyers in Blackpool around £115,735 in March. This was 1% more than in March 2022, when prices stood at approximately £115,045.

Wyre

Almost 150 first-time buyers purchased a house in Wyre through the Help to Buy ISA scheme in the year to March. The latest Treasury data shows 147 properties were expected to be bought in Wyre with support from the Government's scheme in the year to March — down on 329 the year before. Under the help-to-buy scheme, the Government tops up buyers' savings with a 25% bonus. The scheme closed for new applicants in November 2019, but 1,193 bonuses have been paid to individual buyers in Wyre since its launch.

Across the UK, 558,176 property completions have been carried through since the launch of the scheme in December 2015, with 920 of them in Wyre. First-time buyers in Wyre received an average of £1,197 per month on top of their savings. This was lower than the national average bonus of £1,217.

New figures show a new house would cost first-time buyers in Wyre around £158,919 in March. This was 3% more than in March 2022, when prices stood at approximately £154,268.