The Council of Mortgage Lenders has said that the combined Help to Buy schemes accounted for only 4% of all mortgages for house purchase since the launch of the first phase in April 2013.

It described the effect of Help to Buy as “muted”.

Figures released yesterday show there were 7,313 Help to Buy mortgage guarantee deals in the first six months of the scheme, of which 5,483 were for first-time buyers.

The scheme went down best in the north-west and south-east regions, with 1,011 and 1,027 Help to Buy deals respectively – or 14% of all mortgage transactions in each region.

In London, there were the fewest, with just 385 completions.

The average price of a property bought using the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee part of the scheme – available on both old and new properties – was £151,597.

Although the scheme is available on properties worth up to £600,000, only 31 were bought that cost from £500,001 to £600,000.

The figures, from HM Treasury, cover the period between launch last October to the end of March – although the scheme only went properly live in the New Year.

This is reflected in the figures, showing four completions in October, 164 in November and 818 in December, suddenly climbing to 1,580 in January, 2,090 in February and 2,657 in March.

The first phase of Help to Buy, using an equity loan on new-builds only, resulted in 20,548 purchases in its first year to the end of April. The majority (17,913) were first-time buyers.

The average purchase price of a property bought under this part of the scheme was £205,424.