The government scheme has helped many more people get onto the property ladder, and therefore meant that house building levels have managed to continue rising, according to statistics up to December 2014.

There were 41,533 households that were helped into new-build homes through the Help to Buy’s equity loan scheme, with 83 per cent of them being first-time buyers. 30,269 households then bought new and existing homes using the Help to Buy’s mortgage guarantee scheme.

Wiltshire experienced 748 sales, the most for any area using the government scheme. Leeds, Central Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes and Peterborough completed the top five. For all sales, 94 per cent took place outside of London, indicating strong sales nation-wide.

Brandon Lewis, the Housing Minister, said that: “The figures show clearly that Help to Buy supports aspiring home-owners and is a key part of our drive to help hard-working people who want a home of their own.”

“Help to Buy has helped over 77,000 households to purchase a home with just a fraction of the deposit they would normally require. The scheme has also helped get the country building again, with private house building up 20 per cent over the last year, and its highest since 2007.

“This, and today’s industry figures showing 100,000 new house building jobs created in just the last 18 months, show clearly that Help to Buy is a success.”