Can first-time buyers be bought with a ‘99 per cent mortgage’?

Jeremy Hunt’s big idea to help young people to own their own home will tackle the biggest problem facing many: raising a deposit. But it will also heat up the entire housing market, says James Moore

Jeremy Hunt is essentially considering a new version of the Help to Buy scheme (PA Archive)

Could Jeremy Hunt have found the Tories a magic spell powerful enough to save their skins?

The chancellor is considering guaranteeing 99 per cent mortgages to help young people get onto the property ladder, The Independent has revealed.

This is to all intents and purposes a reheated version of the Help to Buy scheme, of which there have been several versions over the years with several names attached to them. Common to all of them, however, is that they have attempted to tackle the biggest hurdle preventing younger people from getting onto the property ladder: finding the cash for a deposit.