housebuilders

But the IPPR says the biggest beneficiaries have been large housebuilders, which have used the scheme to sell an oversupply of properties, particularly one- and two-bedroom city centre apartments, at a time when house prices have been falling.

First-time buyers may be the losers in shared equity scheme 2011

Data published yesterday by the Bank of England showed that the housing market weakened in March with mortgage lending falling 60%, while a Markit/CIPs survey reported that housebuilders experienced their first decline in activity of the year.

House prices 'will keep falling for five years' 2011

One housing industry analyst who spoke to the Guardian anonymously agreed that HomeBuy Direct had only benefited housebuilders.

First-time buyers may be the losers in shared equity scheme 2011

She said: "We're concerned that these schemes are more about bailing out the housebuilders than helping the public, and have been overwhelmingly captured by the largest developers, with the cost burden falling primarily on the consumer."

First-time buyers may be the losers in shared equity scheme 2011

Of the £213m spent on HomeBuy Direct between 2008 and 2011, 64% went to the four largest housebuilders.

First-time buyers may be the losers in shared equity scheme 2011

The £250m scheme, under which homebuyers with a 5% deposit will be able to borrow a further 20% of the price of a new home from the government and housebuilders, was one of the few giveaways in the chancellor's second budget last Wednesday.

Firstbuy could lock young homebuyers into falling property market 2011

This coup was achieved by a deft alliance of private housebuilders, big retailers and the "affordable rural housing" lobby.

The maths of coalition has opened the door to lobbyists | Simon Jenkins 2011

Many of the housebuilders involved in the report are sceptical about how the government can reconcile its drive for growth and localism.

Localism is making housing shortage worse, warns new report 2011

Campaigners are warning that George Osborne's "Firstbuy" scheme to help cash-strapped young voters onto the property ladder is a subsidy for housebuilders that could lock vulnerable buyers into a falling market.

Firstbuy could lock young homebuyers into falling property market 2011

The result is that the government has in effect propped up weak housebuilders.

First-time buyers may be the losers in shared equity scheme 2011