Purchasers of new build homes in Rugeley will see their deposits cut by at least £15,000 by using the government backed NewBuy scheme, according to local housebuilder, Barratt Homes.

Homebuyers buying a property at £150,000 previously would have paid a 15 per cent deposit of £22,500, but with the five per cent deposit available with the NewBuy scheme, this is slashed to just £7,500.

At Barratt's Rugeley development, Bracken Gardens, buyers of a four-bedroom family house priced at £194,950 could see a reduction on the deposit of £19,495.

Barratt has reported that the scheme is already proving popular with customers in the region and ten per cent of the company's buyers are already using the scheme because of the lower deposit required. 

Katie Yates, Sales Manager for Barratt West Midlands said, "We see this as a game changer for the Staffordshire housing market. Credit worthy families who have put their plans to buy a new home on hold for the last few years can once again think of their future.  It's fantastic news for local homebuyers and the economy alike.

"Many have been frustrated with the huge deposits of 15 per cent or more needed on the open market and the new scheme is enabling homebuyers to finally get moving. Thanks to this scheme the deposit needed for a new home has been radically reduced - customers can borrow more at a lower interest rate than was previously the case. 

Katie added, "We're beginning to see significantly more sales using this scheme and homebuyers' confidence is growing. But it's important to understand that the scheme only applies to new build properties in the area and is not available for second hand homes."

Customers such as Kevin Beveridge were amongst the first to use the scheme to buy a new home after initially believing that they would have to rent for the foreseeable future.

Kevin commented, "NewBuy was really straight forward and everything was sorted very quickly after speaking to one of the recommended mortgage advisers. I'm even saving money on my mortgage now."

Barratt Homes' West Midlands division, which operates in Staffordshire has already seen sales during the January to June 2012 period increase by 22 per cent compared with the same period last year.

NewBuy, the 95 per cent mortgage backed by the government, means all purchasers of new build homes, not just first time buyers, can take advantage of the reduced five per cent deposit.

NewBuy is available in England on all Barratt homes up to and including a sale price of £500,000.

Barratt Homes have a great range of properties available at its Bracken Gardens development in Rugeley, Staffordshire. Bracken Gardens offers a range of one-bedroom apartments priced at £79,950, two-bedroom apartments priced at £105,950, three-bedroom houses priced from £169,950 and four-bedroom houses priced at £194,950. For more information please call the sales centre on 01543 491 171 open daily from 10am to 5pm.

Alternatively, please call the sales information centre on 0844 811 9933 open seven days a week from 8am to 9pm or log on to www.barratthomes.co.uk/brackengardens

Barratt West Midlands has been merited the maximum five star official rating from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) for the third year in a row. The news was announced after more than 20,000 new home buyers across the country took part in this year's HBF customer satisfaction survey.

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NOTES TO EDITORS: 

1)    For further information about Barratt West Midlands please contact Hannah Elwell, Director of PR or Sophie Redman, PR Account Executive on 0116 247 1777 or Hannah@unsworthsugden.co.uk or sophie@unsworthsugden.co.uk

2)    Barratt Group sold 12,637 homes in the last financial year, making it the biggest housebuilder by volume in Britain.

3)    Barratt Group was awarded a maximum five star rating for the third consecutive year in the 2012 Home Builders Federation Customer Satisfaction Survey.

4)    In 2012 site managers working for Barratt Group won the highest number of NHBC Pride in the Job Quality Awards for a record eighth consecutive year.

5)    Barratt Group was named Housebuilder of the Year at the Housebuilder Awards 2011.

6)    Barratt Group is the only housebuilder to provide a five year warranty on the fixtures and fittings in its new build homes at the time of purchase.

7)    Images of a selection of developments are available to the media at
http://www.barrattdevelopments.co.uk/barratt/en/media/mediakit/lib