Help to Buy?

The Government are "helping people" to buy by getting the banks & Building Societies to lend upto 95%
that's how it used to be, so what's changed?
Basically they make money from lending out money but since the Crash the Government have bailed them out so they don't need to lend money plus they daren't take the risk. Remember If you put 5k down and borrow 95k and you can't keep up the payments,  (rates Will go up!), then the BSoc has to sell your house to get the 95k back 0 what if they can't? YOU still owe the money. If say they only get 80k for the house the Government now gives them the 15k you can't pay so they can't lose.

In the old days banks & Building Societies used to guarantee the 15k by taking out an insurance policy, built into the fees. They can't get these policies now - everyone is scared prices aren't going up. After these few years of stagnation and no building - no ones buying (they have no money/jobs) no price rises to stimulate the market no wonder ! If this scheme stimulates some house price inflation its a small price to pay to kick start the market then building will start and the ball will be rolling a bit like the old days.
Houses are still way too expensive.

The last boom was cause by greed. Folk thought they could make money by buying a house. It never really works like that - you have to live somewhere.

My first house cost £7500, I put a £500 deposit down. Those were the days (3 times my income).