Between April 2006 and February 2007 there were 19,268 applications for Open Market HomeBuy, of which 10,580 have been approved so far by HomeBuy agents. Only a small number are rejected—the majority of those not approved will be still going through the application process. Of those applications approved, 716 were subsequently cancelled. This can be a result of applicants formally withdrawing from the scheme or, for example, detailed financial checks revealing county court judgments. In addition a large number of approved applicants will simply not pursue their application, without formally withdrawing it.
Between April 2006 and February 2007 there were 73,556 applications for New Build HomeBuy of which 54,624 have been approved by HomeBuy Agents. Only a small number are rejected—the majority of those not approved will be still going through the application process. Information on cancelled approvals is not held for New Build HomeBuy because the applicants buy through a large number of housing association providers, and mortgages are available from all lenders.
A large number of applicants will initially apply for both Open Market and New Build HomeBuy and will therefore feature in both figures.
Between April 2006 and February 2007, 534 applicants were received by RSLs for Social HomeBuy pilots. Information on applications declined for Social HomeBuy is not recorded on a monthly basis, but will be examined as part of an extensive monitoring exercise to be undertaken on the programme later this year.
In the LA sector, between July 2006 and March 2007, 96 applications were received, of which 37 were refused.