A Caerphilly family were given a ministerial welcome to their new home to mark the first anniversary of the Welsh Government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme.
Communities Minister Lesley Griffith visited the Steggles family, who bought their new home on the Beeches Village housing development in Caerphilly with assistance from Help to Buy – Wales.
Ms Griffiths AM was celebrating the 1,000th home supported by the £170m initiative.
The scheme is on track to support the construction of 5,000 new homes across Wales and has received the backing of over 148 builders and thousands of aspiring home owners.
Ms Griffiths AM said: “I’d like to congratulate Leighton and Siân on purchasing their first home and wish them every success for the future. It’s wonderful to see how Welsh Government support is having such a positive impact on people’s lives.
“I’m delighted 1,000 homes have already been purchased with support from our Help to Buy – Wales scheme, with a further 400 properties in the immediate pipeline.
“As well as helping people buy a new home, the scheme has also proved to be great news for the industry, with builders of all sizes across Wales now offering Help to Buy – Wales shared equity loans on their properties.”
The new housing at The Beeches Village was built by developer Lovell in partnership with housing association United Welsh.
Leighton Steggles said: “We’d been renting for a few years and it was impossible for us to save the large deposit needed to buy our own home.
“Siân had worked out what we had spent on rent over the past eight years and that was a scary amount.
“The process for using the Help to Buy – Wales scheme was really straightforward and everything was explained to us very clearly by Lovell.
“It’s fantastic to have our own home and we’ve all settled in really well.
“We are only six minutes from the children’s school and the boys, who were sharing a bedroom before, now each have their own rooms, which they love.”
Kate Rees, of Lovell, said: “Help to Buy – Wales has made a huge difference for so many people – both first-time buyers and people looking to move up the housing ladder.
“We’ve seen ourselves how it can change lives, making it possible for people to own the home they want.”