Osborne expands Help to Buy scheme until 2020

George OsborneUK's Chancellor George Osborne has said that it is planning to expand the Government's Help to Buy scheme, which is aiming to help revive the housing market, until the year 2020.

Osborne said in his pre-Budget announcement that the government is planning to invest another £6 billion in the equity loan part of the scheme in order to help 120,000 more households to buy houses in the UK. He announced a four-year extension of the equity loans scheme in his Budget speech, boosting the housing market.

He pointed out that the extension of the deal will create the opportunity for another 120,000 homes to acquire homes. The scheme allows people to apply for relatively small deposit. The second phase of the Help to Buy is expected to conclude in December 2016.

Under the scheme, people in the UK will be able to buy a home with a 5 per cent deposit and the UK Government will act as guarantor for a mortgage for an extra 20 per cent of the value of the property. The Bank of England has indicated that it is watching the UK's housing market carefully for signs of overheating as the prices of houses rise and mortgage lending increases in the country.