The value of loans granted by the government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme has risen sharply over the past four years, according to exclusive data from Savills. From early 2014 to the first quarter of this year, the value of loans increased by 55% as more and more people have used them to buy increasingly expensive properties.

However, a pending government review of the programme is likely to lead to the value of loans being curtailed after 2021 and could push developers to rethink their strategies, according to Lawrence Bowles, Savills’ associate director of residential research. “We’re likely to see the scheme restricted in its scope and availability,” says Bowles.