Some 2213 completions were made in March 2015, bringing the total up to 4628 in the first quarter of 2015, but were down on the previous quarter where completions stood at 5581.

The equity loan scheme, launched in April 2013, allows first-time buyers and homemovers to borrow up to 20% from the government to fund the the cost of a new-build home.

After two years of lending, the value of equity loans at completion now stands at £1,993m compared to £801m a year earlier. The total value of properties sold under the scheme reached the cumulative total of £10,011m, more than doubling the previous year’s figure of £4022m.

Most of the home purchases in the scheme were made by first-time buyers, accounting for 82% of total purchases, 65.8% of total completions were by purchasers with a deposit of up to 5%.

The number of homes purchased in the scheme to date were greatest among borrowers with an average household income between £30,001 and £40,000 a year, representing 25.2% of total completions.

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The Help to Buy equity loan allows borrowers to purchase a property of up to £600,000. Over the two years recorded, the average price of a property bought under the scheme was £212,932, compared with an average equity loan of £42,394.

Under the Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme, which was launched prior to the equity release and mortgage guarantee scheme, just 17 home purchases were made in Q1 2015, compared to 82 in the previous quarter and 252 when it was first launched in 2012.

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