A decade after its launch, England’s Help to Buy looks far less egalitarian than billed. New analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (published 15 April 2026) finds the 2013 schemes largely improved buying power for higher‑income households and did little to shift overall affordability or social mobility. The study arrives amid fresh calls to revive buyer support, setting a clear benchmark for what worked-and what didn’t. (ifs.org.uk)

Help to Buy had two moving parts: a UK‑wide mortgage guarantee to support 95% LTV lending, and, in England, an equity loan covering up to 20% of the price of a new‑build (40% in London), reducing the mortgage required. The equity loan closed to new applications in England on 31 October 2022, with final completions by 31 March 2023. Scotland’s version has also closed. (researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk)

IFS researchers show the gains clustered where incomes were higher and new‑builds were more readily available. In London and the South East, the schemes raised the maximum price buyers could afford, but translated into a smaller increase in the share of local homes within reach-because prices were already so far ahead. Geography and income, not parental background, dominated outcomes. (ifs.org.uk)

One example from the IFS makes the point. On a £200,000 home, cutting the minimum deposit from 10% to 5% looks helpful, but a 95% mortgage still requires an income above roughly £42,000 if lenders cap borrowing at 4.5 times income. For many would‑be buyers, the income cap-not the deposit-was binding. (ifs.org.uk)

On social mobility, the conclusion is plain: the schemes neither entrenched nor eased inequalities by parental background in a meaningful way. The mortgage guarantee had limited effects on affordability for most non‑owners; the equity loan helped those already closer to the threshold. In short, the boost skewed up the income scale. (ifs.org.uk)

Policy has since diverged across the UK. England’s equity loan era is over; Scotland’s scheme has closed; Northern Ireland never ran a comparable equity‑loan model. Wales has extended Help to Buy‑Wales through September 2026, keeping a new‑build equity loan open while other nations have moved on. (gov.uk)

The UK government instead made the mortgage guarantee permanent from July 2025, aiming to keep 91‑95% LTV deals available nationwide. Officials also signalled room for a modest rise in higher loan‑to‑income lending, which could marginally widen access-but repayments still have to stack up. (gov.uk)

Developers counter that Help to Buy underpinned a dramatic recovery in output. The Home Builders Federation argues housing supply doubled in the five years after 2013, with the scheme supporting tens of thousands of jobs and generating a net return to the Exchequer as loans are repaid. The HBF now wants a targeted, modernised equity‑loan offer for first‑time buyers. (hbf.co.uk)

Official watchdogs have been cooler. The National Audit Office reported in 2019 that a large share of buyers could have purchased anyway, and warned of price effects where supply was constrained. The IFS notes the same trade‑off: without more homes, buyer subsidies tend to reshuffle who wins, and can lift prices for those outside the schemes. (nao.org.uk)

For lenders, builders and would‑be buyers, the read‑across is practical. With equity loans gone in England and Scotland, new‑build sales fell back, particularly in 2023; analysts say a patchwork of alternatives may support volumes but won’t fully replace Help to Buy. A permanent mortgage guarantee should keep low‑deposit products alive, yet the real gatekeeper remains incomes versus monthly repayments. (cbre.co.uk)