In November last year ministers published figures showing that in the first month of the Help to Buy scheme more than 2,000 people had put in offers on homes and applied for a Help to Buy mortgage. That number has now trebled to more than 6,000.

The mortgages, once approved, would represent nearly £1 billion of new lending to aspiring home owners who may have previously found the property market out-of-reach because of the size of deposit required.

The government says that as part of its long-term economic plan to build a stronger, more competitive economy and secure a better future for Britain, it is committed to increasing the supply of housing and supporting those who aspire to own their own home.

New Help to Buy products

In January Barclays and Santander introduced their own Help to Buy products onto the market joining Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, HSBC, Virgin Money and Aldermore who have all launched products providing a wide range of options for first time buyers and other potential applicants in 2014.

The expansion will mean two-thirds of the entire UK mortgage market will offer products under the Help to Buy scheme, bringing home ownership to a growing number of people.

New figures show that an additional 20,000 households have also been supported by the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme, a separate scheme where the government provides an interest-free loan to support the purchase of a newly built home.

House building is now growing at its fastest rate since 2008.