UK Launches 'Help to Buy' Scheme to Boost Housing Market

[Corey Dutton]

Lloyds Bank recently announced one of many loan programs aimed at boosting the housing market in the UK. The loan products allow for a 5% down payment and have a 2-year fixed rate of 5.19%. According to a Propertywire.com article, this is just one of a range of measures the UK is taking in an attempt to boost the housing market, and thus the UK economy as a whole.

But is a low down payment requirement and a low “teaser rate” just another “scheme” to temporarily increase sales while putting homebuyers into unsustainable mortgages? A 2 year fixed rate mortgage being offered by Lloyds is just an adjustable rate mortgage, the same type of loan which led to the demise of the mortgage market in the U.S. back in 2008. This is a lesson we learned all too well in past years and hopefully history won’t repeat itself again. Only time will tell how these ‘Help to Buy’ mortgages play out in the UK. What is your opinion on this topic? Is it too soon for banks in the UK to be playing this game all over again?

(Source: Propertywire.com: http://www.propertywire.com/news/finance-update/help-buy-scheme-products.html)

Posted by Corey Curwick Dutton