‘The Sunday Times reports that high street lenders are close to a deal with the Treasury to remove the last obstacles to George Osborne’s controversial Help to Buy mortgage scheme.
The first phase of the scheme, targeted at buyers of new-build properties, was launched in April and is already being credited with pumping up house prices.
The second phase, due to be launched in January, is open to anyone buying a house worth less than £600,000. Mortgage lenders have complained that it is unworkable. Bank accounting rules, they claim, would penalise the loans offered as if they were a risky mortgage worth 95% of the value of the property.
Treasury officials have now found a way to get round the problem and have promised to release more details next month, according to sources close to the negotiations. Meanwhile, Knight Frank is to revise housing forecasts on the back of Help to Buy.
It had previously predicted that prices across the country would fall by 2% in 2013, but a revised forecast, due out this week, will predict growth of 3%.’
Source: The Sunday Times
