By Steve Taggart
Property buyers across large parts of the UK have confessed to ‘never hearing of the Help to Buy scheme’ or have admitted to ‘hearing the name but not knowing what it was’, according to a new report. The research, carried out by Bishop’s Move, surveyed 1000 people and found exactly a quarter (25 per cent) of homeowners and current buyers in the North East had never heard of the scheme with a further 28 per cent in the South West; 26 per cent in Yorkshire; 23 per cent in the East Midlands; and 22 per cent in London all admitting to ‘hearing about the scheme but not realising what it was’.
Perhaps more alarming for the Government is the general lack of understanding amongst the UK’s younger generations – a key demographic for the Help to Buy scheme. 22 per cent aged between 18-24 and 29 per cent aged between 25-34 said they had also ‘heard of Help to Buy but didn’t realise what it was’.
Just over 15 per cent of 18-24 year olds also think the Help to Buy scheme is a recently launched face-to-face, personal shopping service by the major supermarkets for over 60s with a further 11 per cent believing the Help to Buy scheme is a new web service to help online traders shop more securely on sites such as eBay.
Nationally, just 3 per cent said they were ‘fully aware of Help to Buy’s benefits and have used or knew someone that has used the scheme’ whilst 22 per cent had also ‘heard of the scheme but didn’t’ realise what it was’.
Chris Marshall, Sales & Marketing Director at Bishop’s Move comments: “Help to Buy has certainly been making the headlines for some time there are yet pockets of home owners and property buyers across the UK that remain completely unaware of the scheme. In areas such as the North East, where the property market is somewhat stagnate, it is a worrying statistic that over a quarter of those surveyed haven’t even heard of Help to Buy. In order to improve local economies through the housing market, more needs to be done from a regional perspective to ensure people are fully aware of the many benefits Help to Buy can bring.”
To find out more about Bishop’s Move International Moves visit www.bishopsmove.com.
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