Isle of Man parliament opens up house purchase scheme
- Published
The Manx parliament, Tynwald has opened up the Isle of Man's house purchase scheme to people on higher incomes.
The eligible income for Manx residents applying for assistance has risen from £25,000 to £35,000.
The minimum grant has also gone up from from £3,000 to £5,000.
Social Care Minister Martyn Quayle said: "By increasing our support my Department will help first-time buyers and encourage them to purchase in the next year."
He added: "This will stimulate the housing market, helping others to move further up the housing chain, which in turn will stimulate spending in the local economy and so help to protect jobs.
"We estimate that it should help an additional 125 to 150 house moves over the next year, generating economic activity worth approximately £2,000,000."
The change takes effect immediately and will be in force for a fixed period until July 2012.
The average house price on the Isle of Man is over £270,000, nearly double the average in the North West of England.