Savings plan helps put 1,600 in Sunderland on housing ladder
September last year.
In that time, an estimated 1,236 properties were bought through the tax-free savings account.
First-time buyers in Sunderland each received an average bonus sum of £892 last year.
The national average bonus was £966.
The scheme closed to new applicants in November and savers with an account open will need to claim their bonus by December 1 2030 or risk losing out.
The Government boosts any funds saved by 25% at the point the property is purchased. The maximum it will add is £3,000.
Buyers can only use their Help to Buy ISA to purchase a home worth a maximum of £250,000, or £450,000 in
London.
The average sale price of homes for first-time buyers in Sunderland was £130,600 in 2019, £1,600 more than in 2018 and £6,100 more than in 2016 – the first full year of the scheme.
The rule on using the bonus money on completion, and not at the exchange stage, has previously caused "confusion" among savers, according to the Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB).
James Chidgey, new homes relationship manager at the MAB, said: “It can still mean buyers having to resort to temporary loans or assistancefromfamilytoputdown the minimum 5% deposit required to reach exchange of contracts with a vendor.
"Although the Help to Buy ISA is now closed to new applications, there is a very good alternative ISA available, the Lifetime ISA.
“This can be used by firsttime buyers to save for a home, with a facility to save up to £4,000 per annum and receive a 25% bonus from the Government.”