Help to Buy lends a hand to Taylor Wimpey

Housing Wed, Mar 23, 2016 10:27 AM

Britain's biggest house builder, Taylor Wimpey, said the company has been trading at the upper end of its expectations in the first half of this year.

Chief Executive Peter Redfern has warned that George Osborne's Help to Buy scheme would be a disaster for the sector unless it was subject to a timeframe.

Today he said: "We have welcomed signs of significant improvement in the housing market in the first six months of 2013 where we have seen increased consumer confidence, underpinned by both generally improved access to and affordability of mortgage finance and by the recent Government measures. 

“This has enabled us to continue our investment in local communities across the UK and play a leading role in the creation of new homes, employment opportunities and infrastructure.”

The Chancellor announced the Help to Buy scheme in the April budget. The initiative provides lenders with a guarantee of up to 20pc of the price of the property.

Earlier this week, house builder Persimmon also praised the impact of Help to Buy, saying their trading statistics were up on this time last year.