Loans for first home buyers cut
Housing spokeswoman Annette King said the Government's claims that the need for the scheme had dropped because of low interest rates and a higher rate of bank lending did not hold water.
Funding for Welcome Home Loans, in which loans up to $350,000 to borrowers with joint incomes below $85,000 annually are underwritten by the Government, has been cut from $7.8 million to $4.3 million.
The scheme allowed borrowers to take out mortgages up to $200,000 without a deposit and with a small deposit over that amount. In smaller centres, the amount that could be borrowed was limited to $280,000 but in areas such as Auckland, with higher house prices, up to $350,000 was available.
The scheme had been credited with driving demand for properties in the $100,000 to $200,000 price bracket in particular.
Click the button below to subscribe and will have free unlimited access for a limited time to full article and all other articles on the site.
You will also be able to comment on articles on Good Returns.
