Help to Buy revival speculation; Persimmon best placed

Research evidence excerpt

Help to Buy revival speculation; Persimmon best placed

Equity Research

21 July 2026 | 6:41PM BST

UK HOME BUILDERS

There has been recent speculation in the media surrounding the potential Rebecca Parker

+44(20)7051-6646 |

re-introduction of a demand-side support scheme under new prime minister Andy rebecca.x.parker@gs.com

Goldman Sachs International

Burnham. Historically, Help to Buy (HtB) equity loans were a key feature of the

Jonathan Kownatormarket supporting on average 25% of total completions throughout 2013 to 2023 +44(20)7051-2974 |

and enabling £105.4b of purchases with First Home Buyers (FHB) comprising 85% of jonathan.kownator@gs.comGoldman Sachs International

users. Given this historical scale, any revived scheme could represent a material Kuber Sood, CFA

catalyst for the sector. +1(332)245-7812Goldman Sachs India| kuber.sood@gs.comSPL

Criticism that HtB led to house price inflation: Some critics, including reports from

the House of Lords and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, argued that the previous

scheme inflated house prices and primarily benefitted higher earners, however other

reports such as from the National Audit Office suggest minimal price distortion.

Demand-side support needed to stimulate building: The absence of a comparable

demand-side support programme, alongside other factors, has contributed to a

significant contraction in UK house building, with completions in England down 33%

from their 2021 peak. With annual completions running at c140k versus the c300k

required under the government’s 1.5m homes target, this appears increasingly out of

reach.

Funding could fit within current fiscal rules: Help to Buy throughout 2013-23

provided c.£24bn of government loans and the Home Builders Federation estimates