Help to Buy - Wales opens to first-time buyers and home movers with a 5% deposit for homes up to £300,000

The Welsh Government's Help to Buy Wales shared equity loan scheme applies to homes up to £300,000 from 1 April 2023, for first-time buyers and home movers who have a 5% deposit¹. The scheme is listed among the Welsh Government's home ownership schemes, which it describes as financial assistance to help people in Wales own their own homes¹.

The scheme allows eligible purchasers to buy new-build homes with assistance from the Welsh Government in the form of a shared equity loan². The £300,000 price limit and the availability to both first-time buyers and home movers are stated in Welsh Government statistics published in 2015 and 2017 as well as in the current guidance¹.

The same page lists two other Welsh Government home ownership schemes. Shared Ownership Wales lets a buyer purchase an initial share of 25% to 75% of a property, with rent paid on the remaining share¹. Homebuy Wales is an equity loan scheme of between 30% and 50% for those who meet specific criteria to buy a property¹.

The guidance does not set out the size of the equity loan under Help to Buy Wales, the interest or repayment terms, or the end date of the scheme. Those details have not been reported in the pages reviewed.

Why it matters for households

For buyers in Wales, the scheme's terms determine how much of a property's price has to be found upfront. A 5% deposit is required, so the cash needed rises with the price of the home and is capped by the £300,000 limit on the property¹. The scheme is not limited to first-time buyers, so home movers buying a new build within the price limit are also covered¹.

The £300,000 limit applies to the property, not the buyer, so a new build priced above that figure falls outside the scheme as described¹. The guidance does not state whether the limit is reviewed or index-linked, and no future change to it has been reported.

Because Help to Buy Wales is a loan rather than a grant, the amount provided is repayable. The pages reviewed do not give the repayment rate, the point at which repayment is required, or any interest charged, so the ongoing cost to a household cannot be established from them.

The scheme sits alongside Shared Ownership Wales and Homebuy Wales, which have different structures: Shared Ownership involves buying a share and paying rent on the rest, while Homebuy Wales is an equity loan of 30% to 50% for buyers meeting specific criteria¹. Which scheme applies depends on the buyer's circumstances and the property.

What happens next

The scheme applies to homes up to £300,000 from 1 April 2023¹. No closing date, funding allocation or change to the price limit has been reported in the pages reviewed.