New research by Ocean Finance has said that the Help to Buy scheme is the most popular way for first time buyers to get onto the housing ladder.

Answers from 628 respondents found that half of first time buyers would be open to using either the Help to Buy Equity Loan or the Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee to get over the barrier of the deposit that prevents a lot of people from getting their foot onto the housing ladder.

Deposits push home ownership out of reach of many first time buyers, especially since mortgages became more restricted after the financial crash, which is what Help to Buy was supposed to alleviate.

40 per cent of those asked said that the deposit is the biggest hurdle to overcome.

Help to Buy reduced this hurdle, and for the 100,000 people who have managed to purchase a home on the scheme, it has helped to overcome this obstacle.

22 per cent also planned to use the Help to Buy ISA to try and save money for a deposit.

Unfortunately, while the Help to Buy scheme is helping individuals to overcome the housing barrier, it is still a struggle for the majority. Housing prices seem to have been unaffected by the scheme, and the rest of ‘generation rent’, unless they can get financial aid off family members or another source, are locked out of home ownership.