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divdiv class=story-body readability=37 span class=story-date#13; span class=date10 November 2013/span#13;span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time19:01 ET/span#13; #13;/span#13;#13; #13;#13;#13; #13; #13; #13; p class=introduction id=story_continues_1Two major lenders have reported a strong uptake in the first month of the government's extended Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme./p#13; pRoyal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Halifax said they had received a total of 2,384 applications, potentially worth £365m in mortgages./p#13; pThe scheme is designed to encourage lenders to offer mortgages with deposits as low as 5%./p#13; pBut critics are concerned it could help to create a UK housing bubble./p#13; pRBS and its subsidiary NatWest, and Halifax - owned by Lloyds Banking Group - are among the few lenders to offer mortgages under the government's extended scheme./p#13; pThe first phase of Help to Buy was launched in April, but only provided help to first-time buyers buying new-build homes. The extended scheme applies to all buyers and all types of homes./p#13; pRBS said it had so-far approved 169 of its 1,075 applications, and five customers had already completed their purchases./p#13; pIt said the majority of applications had come from young couples with a joint salary of less than £50,000. The average price of the property being bought was £167,565./p#13; pHalifax said more than 80% of its applications under the scheme were from first-time buyers./p#13; pIt said the majority of applications had come from outside London and the south-east of England, where property prices are rising fastest./p#13; div class=story-feature narrow#13; a class=hidden href=#story_continues_2Continue reading the main story/a h2 class=quote“spanStart Quote/span/h2#13;blockquote readability=1p class=first-childThis is all about helping hardworking people get on the first rung of the property ladder”/p/blockquote#13;span class=endquoteEnd Quote/span#13; span class=quote-creditDavid Cameron/span#13; #13;#13; /div p id=story_continues_2It also said that five purchases had so-far been completed./p#13; span class=cross-headBubble worries/span#13; pThe government welcomed the figures, saying that the scheme was supporting responsible lending, helping borrowers would can afford mortgage repayments, but not a large deposit. /p#13; pFour weeks in and its clear that Help to Buy is already delivering, said Prime Minister David Cameron./p#13; pMost Help to Buy applicants are first-time buyers, young and have a roughly average household income. This is all about helping hardworking people get on the first rung of the property ladder./p#13; pBut critics have expressed concern that the scheme could create a bubble in the housing market, making home affordability an even bigger problem./p#13; pThe latest figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest average house prices in the UK have now recovered from the slump seen during the recession./p#13; pFigures from Halifax suggest house prices have yet to hit their 2007 peak, but have risen steadily for the last nine consecutive months./p#13; pNationwide Building Society says prices are currently 5.8% higher than a year ago./p#13; pBut estate agents argue that much of those price rises are seen in London and the south-east of England, while prices in other parts of the country are rising more slowly, or in some cases actually falling./p#13; /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center