MARKET WARNING
By Nicola Laver
The National Audit Office (NAO) has reviewed the equity loan scheme by which home buyers receive an interest free loan of up to 20 per cent of the value of an eligible newbuild property (40 per cent in London). In its report, the NAO said that by the end of last year 211,000 loans totalling £11.7bn had been made. The report said the scheme has increased the sales of newbuild properties; but warned that with a downturn in the market homeowners could face a negative equity trap, exacerbated by the newbuild premium. June 13th 2019