Simon Tollit, director of London estate agency Tedworth Property, said: ‘A number of developers who are household names have signed up to the Mayor’s new initiative and while this is a headline-grabbing gesture, with the theory being that many domestic buyers & hardworking people in London (and the UK) will now be given the chance to own their own homes, it should be noted that it is exactly that – a gesture.
‘There are so few properties available for sale in new developments in London that will qualify, one must wonder whether it will make any meaningful difference whatsoever.’
He added: ‘In addition, with many new-builds being launched years before completion, and with the Help to Buy initiative only be valid for properties that are within a set period of completion, again, I would question how useful this will be for those looking to buy through the initiative.’
