THOUSANDS of people across Gwent have used the government’s Help to Buy ISA scheme to get on the housing ladder, figures show.

Treasury data shows that more than 3,000 people in Gwent used the Help to Buy ISA between December 2015 and September 2019.

Help to Buy ISAs - which closed to new applicants in November last year - allowed people to save with tax-free interest, with the government contributing an additional 25 per cent of the account's full value when it is used to put a deposit on a home, up to a maximum of £3,000.

Newport

  • 1,375 people received a government bonus through the scheme.
  • An estimated 1,026 properties were bought through the tax-free savings account.
  • First-time buyers each received a bonus sum of £913 on average last year. The national average bonus was £966.
  • The average sale price of homes for first-time buyers in Newport was £157,000 in 2019, £2,400 more than in 2018 and £1,200 less than in 2016 – the first full year of the scheme.

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Caerphilly

  • 1,106 people received a government bonus through the scheme, and around 828 properties were bought through the account.
  • First-time buyers each received a bonus sum of £853 on average last year.
  • The average sale price of homes for first-time buyers was £132,700 in 2019, £2,000 more than in 2018 and £4,800 more than in 2016.

Monmouthshire

  • 426 people received a government bonus through the scheme, and 295 properties were bought with the help of the scheme.
  • First-time buyers each received a bonus sum of £929 on average last year.
  • The average sale price of homes for first-time buyers was £182,200 in 2019, £800 more than in 2018 and £7,700 more than in 2016.

Torfaen

  • 606 people in Torfaen received a government bonus through the Help to Buy ISA, and an estimated 454 properties were bought through the scheme.
  • First-time buyers in Torfaen each received a bonus sum of £933 on average last year.
  • The average sale price of homes for first-time buyers in Torfaen was £138,900 in 2019, £3,600 more than in 2018 and £19,400 more than in 2016.

Blaenau Gwent

  • 279 people received a government bonus through the Help to Buy ISA, and roughly 215 properties were bought through the tax-free savings account.
  • First-time buyers each received a bonus sum of £820 on average last year.
  • The average sale price of homes for first-time buyers was £105,400 in 2019, £800 less than in 2018 and £9,100 less than in 2016.

James Chidgey, new homes relationship manager at the MAB, said: “It can still mean buyers having to resort to temporary loans or assistance from family to put down the minimum five per cent deposit required to reach exchange of contracts with a vendor.

"Although the Help to Buy ISA is now closed to new applications, there is a very good alternative ISA available, the Lifetime ISA. This can be used by first-time buyers to save for a home, with a facility to save up to £4,000 per annum and receive a 25% bonus from the Government.”