A shot in the arm – that’s how some analysts are describing the Help to Buy scheme that was introduced by the government during the last budget.

The scheme has certainly restored growth to the housing market and in the South East in particularly, it’s had a huge impact. For example the average Kent home is now valued at £234,791, up 4.3% on the same time last year.

The Bank of England added to the rosy outlook with its report that said mortgage approvals were nationally at a three-and-a-half-year high.

Central to this positivity is the Help to Buy scheme which assists homebuyers in paying the high deposits now needed to buy a home, with up to 20% of the value subsidised by a five-year interest-free loan from the Government.

Available to all buyers of newly-built homes up to the value of £600,000, it has seen new homes sales jump 30% in May 2013, compared with April, to 2,346 homes, while the number of home sales in May is the highest figure seen since December 2012.

At RPC Land and New Homes we have been doing our utmost to support this new found growth and buoyancy, with a great number of new homes developments available, which include the offer of Help to Buy.

However, as Help to Buy was always meant to be a temporary measure to boost the market, there has been some scepticism as to how the scheme will be withdrawn. Critics are citing the need for the government to plan for a “sensible withdrawal” of the scheme rather than pulling the plug on it “overnight”.

Although the Help to Buy scheme has not found favour yet in all corners, it has certainly given the market the push that everyone has been waiting for and purchasers the much-needed help to get on the property ladder.

Go to the New Homes section of www.rpclandandnewhomes.co.uk and go to. It gives details of the RPC developments on offer and if Help to Buy is available. You can also contact any RPC office on 01732 363633 (west Kent), 01622 691911 (mid Kent) and 01634 835900 (Thames Gateway).