Almost 200,000 (195,219) properties have now been bought using a Help to Buy Equity Loan since the scheme was launched in April 2013, according to new government figures.

And the total value of these equity loans for fair credit has surpassed the £10bn mark (£10.66bn), with the value of the properties sold under the scheme totalling £49.89bn.

First-time buyers bought four out of every five homes purchased under the scheme (81%).

The average property price was £255,542, using an equity loan of £54,630 supported by a mortgage.

Joseph Daniels, founder of modular housebuilder Project Etopia, may be of interest: “Help To Buy has been a staggeringly popular initiative, crashing through this colossal milestone in only five years.

“The scheme has come under fire for allegedly inflating property prices but the government has already called a halt to the scheme, announcing in October that it will end for all but first-time buyers from 2021. There will also be regional price caps from 2021 that will take some of the heat out of those markets before Help To Buy finally closes in 2023.”

“This presents an opportunity for policy makers to focus their attention elsewhere. The country needs to get the balance right between new building and demand-side measures like Help To Buy, which simply improve the financial position of prospective buyers. If prices are being inflated, that would make the climb facing first-time buyers an even steeper one with much of this cash ending up in the pockets of developers.”