The Help to Buy equity loan scheme, which offers a 20 per cent government loan (40 per cent in London) to buyers of new-build properties, has been extended a further two years, from April 2021 to 2023. The upper price cap for a property to be eligible for the scheme will also increase. They will now be set at 1.5 times the average forecast regional first-time buyer price, pushing the maximum cost of a Help to Buy home up to £600,000 in London (previously £450,000).

Under current rules, the price is capped at £250,000 outside London. This will now change to reflect huge regional variations in house prices.

For example, the maximum price of a Help to Buy house in the South East will be £437,600, while in the North East it will be £186,100.