THOUSANDS of first time home-owners in Worcestershire have used a government scheme to get on the housing ladder.

New figures from the Housing and Communities Agency (HCA) show more than 3,000 homebuyers in the county have used the government's Help to Buy scheme in the seven years since it was launched.

Within the county, the places where Help to Buy was used most often were Wychavon (1,254) and Worcester (535).

Of the total amount of homeowners to use the scheme, 2,334 were first time buyers.

Elsewhere in the county, there have been 308 Help to Buy sales in Malvern Hills, 530 in Redditch, 463 in Bromsgrove and 250 in Wyre Forest.

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The Help to Buy scheme allows would-be buyers to put down just five per cent as a deposit for their new home and take advantage of a government equity loan providing access to more affordable mortgage rates.

The scheme allows any homebuyer to secure a brand new home worth less than £600,000 with a five per cent deposit.

The government lends the buyer 20 per cent of the value of the property in an interest free loan for five years, meaning buyers can access better mortgage rates than would otherwise be available to them with a 75 per cent mortgage.

Currently available to all homebuyers, not just first timers, the scheme helps anyone looking for a boost up the property ladder, however, Help to Buy will be changing in 2021 with more restrictions in place.

County homebuilder David Wilson Homes has been encouraging first-time buyers to take advantage of the scheme, which has helped thousands of homeowners across the country.

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Valerie Martin, sales manager at David Wilson Homes Mercia, said: “Worcestershire has produced some strong results for the Help to Buy scheme and it is great to see districts such as Wychavon achieving such high figures for the scheme in the county.

“Help to Buy has proved so helpful to so many homebuyers and we would encourage anyone looking to buy a home with lower upfront costs to get in touch.”

David Wilson Homes is currently building properties across Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Current developments are at Abbey Gate in Redditch and St Catherine's Grange in Ledbury.