Nationwide Building Society reports a 53% year-on-year increase in the number of first-time buyers taking out a Helping Hand mortgage.
The increase follows an increase in the scheme’s criteria in September 2024, which will allow borrowers to take out loans worth up to six times their income, up from the previous limit of 5.5 times.
It also reflects a moved by supervisors earlier this year to relax rules limiting the share of high loan-to-income ratio loans that banks and building societies could make.
Between October 2024 and September 2025, Nationwide’s Helping Hand mortgages were used by 23,000 borrowers to buy their first home, up from 15,000 in the previous 12 months.
The completions of new-build homes have also more than doubled, with an increase of 102%.
Nationwide had to restrict lending under the Helping Hand scheme in January to stay within rules requiring no more than 15% of lending by a bank or building society to exceed 4.5 times the loan to income value (LTI).
In May, a clarification by the FCA on stressed rates rules allowed Nationwide to increase the affordability of Helping Hand and allow buyers to borrow up to an additional £28,000.
The maximum LTV on new-build homes also increased nationally to 95%.
But the LTI limits still proved to be a major hurdle, so in July, under pressure from Nationwide and other lenders, the restrictions were eased.
New rules allow individual lenders to go above these limits, as long as high LTI mortgages do not represent more than 15% of all new loans in the sector as a whole.
This allowed Nationwide to relax the minimum income criteria for Helping Hand mortgages.
Since its launch in April 2021, the scheme has been used by 63,000 first-time buyers, borrowing a total of £13 billion.
National data shows that the product appears to be especially popular in regions with higher costs.
The outer south-east accounts for 28% of all Helping Hand completions, while London accounts for 23% and the south-west 12%.
The average single applicant using Helping Hand is 31 years old, compared to the wider market average of 33 years old, according to UK Finance.
National mortgage director Henry Jordan said: “These latest figures from the past twelve months show that our decision to increase lending to six times income has been a game changer for thousands of first-time buyers.
“But we won’t stop there, and with the support of government and regulatory changes in 2025, we have been able to gradually increase our support for potential homeowners, while continuing to put first-time buyers first.”
John Charcol, technical manager of mortgage adviser Nicholas Mendes, said: “Nationwide’s figures show how positive innovation can be in the mortgage market.
“A 53% increase in the number of first-time buyers using Helping Hand over the past year underlines the pent-up demand among aspiring homeowners and the impact of more flexible lending criteria.
“The decision to allow borrowing up to six times income has opened up more conversations with potential buyers who didn’t think they would get on the ladder.
“It also helps to push marginal cases over the line.
“That’s a vital boost for those struggling to bridge the gap between wages and house prices, especially in high-cost regions such as London and the South East.
“This isn’t just about larger loans. It’s about enabling financially stable borrowers, such as key workers and young professionals, to buy faster and with more confidence.
“The expansion to 95% of mortgage rates for new homes also supports construction activity at a time when increasing housing supply remains a national priority.”