MORE than 60 per cent of house buyers in Newport use the Help to Buy scheme, according to home builder.

Persimmon Homes said, 69 per cent of sales this year since January 1 have been made using the government-backed scheme.

Persimmon Homes has three schemes in Newport – Greenfield Court in Bideford Road, The Boulevards in Pencarn Way and Greenacres off Queens Way, Llanwern, more than half of which have been secured by Help to Buy.

Victoria Williams, sales director at Persimmon Homes East Wales, has said there has been a massive increase in people using the scheme.

She said: “People are clearly finding it to be a very useful way to get onto the property ladder.

“I think the increased use in Help to Buy has been because of a greater awareness of the scheme. It has been well advertised and I think most people know at least something about it now.

“We build houses to suit people at all stages of their life, but there is a particular emphasis on first -time buyers as that is what is needed in South Wales.”

Help to Buy in Wales is a Welsh Government initiative to help first time buyers and existing home owners purchase a new-build home up to a value of £300,000 with as little as a five per cent deposit.

Under the scheme, the Welsh Government provides a 20 per cent shared equity loan, leaving the buyer with a 75 per cent mortgage.

For more information on the Help to Buy scheme, visit helptobuywales.co.uk