Combined purchases through the Help to Buy equity loan and mortgage guarantee schemes have accounted for just under 6% of houses bought in the last 15 months, according to recently published Treasury data.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), which conducted an analysis of the data, says that the schemes have been used almost exclusively to purchase moderately-priced properties, in all regions of the UK, with no undue focus on any particular area or price bracket.

In the second quarter of this year, the number of completions through the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme increased from around 6,300 to 11,200, says CML. In May and June, however, completions appeared to have levelled off at around 4,000 a month. Equity loan purchases, which support housing construction, totalled almost 8,000 in the second quarter.

The data show that 79% of purchases with a mortgage guarantee were completed by first-time buyers (compared to 85% for those buying with an equity loan). The average price of property bought through Help to Buy mortgage guarantee was £153,148, compared to an average of £259,500 for all home purchases.

Data published by HM Treasury showed that, compared to total mortgage completions in each region, the mortgage guarantee scheme is supporting a higher proportion of purchases in the North West, the East and Scotland, and a lower proportion in London and the South East.

"It is reassuring to see the data confirming that Help to Buy is essentially delivering its intended objectives,” commented CML director general Paul Smee. “The scheme is supporting new housing construction, and is being used extensively by first-time buyers to purchase average-priced properties in all parts of the UK."

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