The Prime Minister is prepared to rein in the Help to Buy scheme, but only if the Bank of England give him the signal. This is because housing prices are continuing to rise, increasing by an average 8 per cent nationally in the year to March.
London has seen the most extreme housing price increase at 17 per cent.
Mr. Cameron has said that the Help to Buy limit would be lowered from £600,000 should the Bank of England find that the housing market is causing damage to the economy, or pose a high threat of forming a bubble (an economic disaster in which stock prices rise exponentially and then crash.)
Cameron pointed out that it was Mark Carney’s responsibility to monitor and spot any trouble with the economy, and to set in motion the process to solve it.
“We will consider any changes that are proposed by Mark Carney. But as he said, this is a well-targeted scheme and it’s helped tens of thousands of people to get on the housing ladder and to have mortgages” the Prime Minister said, putting the ball firmly in Carney’s court.
Some people, including past Chancellors of the Exchequer, have claimed that the upper limit of £600,000 is far too high, and it does seem excessively high when considering the fact that the scheme is meant for first time buyers who may struggle to save a large deposit.
Doubt does however seem to have spread to the upper echelons and this could be the first indication of the decline of Help to Buy.
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