THERE have been 2,291 home purchases completed in the first year under the NewBuy Guarantee scheme in England – seemingly a fraction of what ministers originally hoped.
The figure, released by the Department for Communities and Local Government, is for up until March 31. CLG also reports that taxpayers' liability by then had reached £23.1m, although none of the money had been paid out.
The scheme was launched on March 12, 2012, and is a mortgage guarantee available to purchasers of new homes who have just a 5 per cent deposit.
The Government indemnifies 5.5 per cent of the property's sale value, while developers in the scheme deposit 3.5 per cent into the fund.
Costs would be incurred only when and if the property had to be possessed by the lender and then sold at a loss.
Geographically, the scheme has met with very patchy take-up, petering out in swathes of the North and the Westcountry. The place with the highest number of NewBuy completions has been Dartford, Kent, where there have been 40 sales.