More than 400,000 first time buyers have been able to get on the housing ladder using the Government’s Help to Buy schemes, according to the latest official figures.

Over 458,000 completions have taken place overall using one or more of the Help to Buy schemes of which 402,000 were first time buyers, the quarterly statistics show. The data also shows that first time buyers have now opened 1.2m Help to Buy ISAs, offering Government bonuses of up to £3,000 on top of their savings, the average house price purchased through the schemes is £201,881 and over 93% of completions across the Help to Buy schemes have taken place outside of London.

“We want to help as many people as possible experience the fantastic feeling of pride you get when you collect the keys to your first home. That’s why we offer the special Help to Buy: ISA for them to save, cut their Stamp Duty, and introduced a new Help to Buy Equity Loan to run until March 2023,” said John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

Secretary of State for Housing, James Brokenshire, said that he is committed to making the housing market work for everyone and restore the dream of home ownership for a new generation. “It’s great news that since 2010 we have helped over half a million people get on the housing ladder, through programmes such as Help to Buy. We are determined to do more, which is why we have dedicated over £44bn of investment to help deliver the homes communities need,” he added.