U.K. Looks to Extend Help-to-Buy Housing Plan Beyond This Year

“The government continues to work closely with all parts of the
housing industry to understand the challenges and opportunities they
face,” the housing ministry said in an emailed statement. U.K. housebuilder shares rose on Tuesday morning in London after the Financial Times reported the proposed extension. The program has in
recent years provided a boon to the companies, which have achieved
record margins by selling homes built on cheap land to buyers benefiting
from the loans. An extension would allow some deals delayed by the coronavirus lockdown to get through before the support policy ends. Most builders
shut down construction temporarily as they sought to develop safe
working practices, pushing completion dates for new properties further
out. The U.K. housing market was effectively frozen in March as the government banned home viewings to slow the Covid-19 outbreak. While
viewings have since resumed, the market is set to lose 27 billion pounds
($34.8 billion) of sales this year, according to property portal Zoopla
Ltd.