Housing Minister Margaret Beckett met one of the first people in the country to benefit from the Government's new HomeBuy Direct scheme.

Mrs Beckett met Sally Taylor, a 25-year-old policewoman who is buying at Barratt Homes Equinox development in Cheltenham. Sally is buying a two-bedroom flat for £99,000 which would have cost £142,000 without the help of HomeBuy Direct.

The scheme helps eligible buyers purchase a home for as little as 70% of the market price with the help of an equity loan funded by the Government and the participating developer.

The equity loan, which can cover up to 30% of the property's price, is provided without a fee for the first five years and can be used as a deposit.

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Barratt is one of the first developers to offer HomeBuy Direct and has already had 20,000 people register their interest in buying a shared equity home.

Mrs Beckett met Sally at Barratt's Kennington Park Square development, in Kennington, London, one of the many sites where homes are available under the scheme.

Mrs Beckett said: "This scheme is helping first time buyers by offering young people like Sally an affordable way on to the housing ladder. The interest we're seeing in HomeBuy Direct really shows there is an increasing appetite for these types of shared equity schemes.

"We know buyers are finding it difficult to enter the market at the moment and HomeBuy Direct is part of a range of actions we have taken to support people aspiring to buy a place of their own, and to help house builders facing tougher times. We are always looking at what more we can do to restore stability to the housing market."

Up to 18,000 first time buyers will be helped through the £400 million HomeBuy Direct scheme, which is also supporting the construction industry in the current economic climate.

(CD/JM)