The equity loan scheme has generated more than 12,500 sales in England since its launch in April and the Scottish government was keen to launch an equivalent.

The Scottish government has allocated £220m to the three-year new build scheme, which launched to the public today.

Lenders offering Help to Buy mortgages in Scotland at launch include Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Nationwide. The scheme largely mirrors Help to Buy in England with borrowers contributing a 5% deposit, the government providing a loan worth up to 20% of the purchase price and the remainder being obtained from a traditional mortgage lender.

However, the Scottish scheme caps loans on new build properties at up to £400,000, unlike the English scheme which is available at up to £600,000.

“There is no doubt that getting onto, or moving up the property ladder has become tougher in recent years,” said deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon.

“House buyers are being hampered by the lack of affordable mortgages, with high deposits often a major barrier.

“The Help to Buy Scotland scheme will not only help people to buy their first home, it will also help ‘second-steppers’ and others move to a new property.

“The scheme will also help support the housing industry alongside our commitment to investment in affordable housing across Scotland.”

The scheme was developed in consultation with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Homes for Scotland, who will also monitor the scheme’s progress after launch.

Homes for Scotland chief executive Philip Hogg described the scheme as a ‘game changer’ that would be boost the entire Scottish housing market.

“Given the immediate and significant impact the Help to Buy concept has had elsewhere in the UK, it was absolutely imperative that comparable levels of support were provided here to ensure that buyers, builders and the wider Scottish economy were not disadvantaged.

“Increasing the range of options available to purchasers, we believe Help to Buy Scotland could be a game changing initiative, acting as the required catalyst to help reverse the downward trend we have witnessed in home building over the last five years.”