Latest data from the government show that in the first 10 months to end January 2014 there were 14,823 properties bought with the support of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme.

The total value of these equity loans was £600 million, with the value of the properties sold under the scheme totalling £3.01 billion.

The average price of a property bought under the scheme was £184,000, with an average equity loan of £36,599, while the majority of home purchases in the Help to Buy equity loan scheme was made by first time buyers, accounting for 13,112 (89%) of total purchases.

For the NewBuy Guarantee scheme, 528 home purchases were made in quarter 4, 2013; this brings the total number of house purchases up to 4,876 since the launch of the scheme in March 2012.

Andy Frankish, new homes director at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), said: “Help to Buy equity loans are clearly doing their job: throwing the doors of the new build market open to first time buyers and pushing builders to up their output rate. The ability to draw on a loan from government leaves aspiring buyers with a much more realistic target to hit when trying to raise a deposit.

“With 85% of loans on properties below £250,000 and activity spread across the country, it’s having the desired effect without stoking house price inflation – in fact, the latest ONS House Price index shows the average price of new dwellings was unchanged in December from 12 months earlier.

“Momentum is clearly building and lenders can help the cause by focusing more products on the new build market – not just equity loans but 95% mortgages too. It is universally accepted that the UK needs more housing and there is no better encouragement for the construction industry than visible demand and affordable products that make owning a new home an achievable goal.”