Leeds Building Society is to join the Government's Help to Buy scheme, and has outlined two mortgages that could help new buyers get onto the housing ladder next year.
The new two-year fixed rate deals will be available at 2.99% and 3.29% for a maximum loan-to-value of 75%.
Under the Help to Buy scheme, buyers in England with 5% deposits will be to able to apply for an equity loan worth up to 20% of the value of the property.
Kim Rebecchi, sales and marketing director at Leeds Building Society, said the society was delighted to be on board with the scheme and offering assistance to those who could afford a mortgage repayment but not a large deposit.
"We already offer 'A helping hand' onto the housing ladder by working in partnership with a number of Local Authorities to provide much needed 95% mortgages," she said.
”We are now very pleased to announce the launch of our first products under the Government's Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme and are confident they will help even more people, both first time buyers and re-mortgagers, to buy their own home."
Leeds is to join the Help to Buy scheme from January 2014 with two fixed-rate deals.
The scheme has been welcomed by construction firms that have seen projects stall during the financial crisis, though concerns remain that the flagship scheme is pushing up prices beyond the reach of aspiring buyers.
The latest House Price Index from Halifax Building Society showed that house prices in the three months to July were 4.6% higher than the same period last year (read more).
The new Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, who yesterday committed to keeping interest rates low for the next three years, said that he would bring the scheme to an end after three years if it threatened to create a new housing bubble.
Keith McDonald
Which4U Editor
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