A government initiative is helping thousands of families in Wiltshire get on to the housing ladder. New figures released by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) reveal 972 people in Swindon with a total of 2,867 homebuyers throughout Wiltshire – 81 per cent of these being first time buyers - have been helped onto the property ladder with Help to Buy.

Local housebuilder Barratt Homes is encouraging homebuyers to take part in the popular scheme which has already helped tens of thousands of people across the country to buy a brand new home. The scheme enables anyone, both first time buyers and existing owners, to put down just five per cent as a deposit for their new home and to take advantage of a government equity loan providing access to more affordable mortgage rates.

Andrea Pilgrim, sales director for Barratt Homes, said: “The Wiltshire area has produced some strong results for the Help to Buy scheme and it is great to see the county achieving such high figures for the scheme. 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.”

Help to Buy allows any homebuyer to secure a brand new home under the value of £600,000 with just a five per cent deposit. The government lends the buyer 20 per cent of the value of the property in the form of an interest free equity loan for five years, meaning that buyers then gain access to some of the great mortgage rates currently available with just a 75 per cent mortgage. Available to all homebuyers, not just first timers, the scheme helps anyone looking for a boost up the property ladder.

On the Barratt Home website there is lots more information on Help to Buy - http://www.barratthomes.co.uk/Offers/Help-to-Buy/ together with a handy calculator which shows how much people can borrow using the scheme.

Barratt Homes is currently working on new developments in Wiltshire including Meadow View in Watchfield, Blunsdon Mead in Swindon, White Horse View in Westbury and The Rushes in Calne. For more information call 0844 5710 385 or visit www.barratthomes.co.uk.