Property conveyancing specialist Andrew Davies has welcomed the scheme announced in last month’s Budget which is designed to boost the property sector through the injection of £130 billion into shared equity housing loans over the next three years.

Introduced on 1 April, phase one of the Government’s Help to Buy scheme is providing buyers with a five-year interest free loan for up to 20 per cent of the value of a new home worth less than £600,000 if the buyer has a five per cent deposit.

From 2014, there will also be a seven-year Mortgage Guarantee plan which will see the Government helping buyers by lending up to 15 per cent of the property’s value.

Mr Davies, associate and head of the residential conveyancing division at Telford law firm MFG Solicitors, said: “It’s absolutely no secret that the housing market here in Shropshire has, like in most other counties, seen a quiet upturn in the past 12 months. But if we are all being honest, for some time there has been a feeling of drift, with no real cause for long-term optimism within the industry.

“But the new and improved Help to Buy scheme is a potential game-changer from the Chancellor. It gives a helping hand to credit-worthy buyers previously unable to step onto the property ladder – those who underpin the housing market.

“The scheme will also drive forward the beleaguered construction industry by stimulating heightened levels of demand and allow the number of homes available to increase – something which here in Shropshire was in urgent need of attention.”

Mr Davies said that his firm, which acts for residential buyers and sellers within the county’s property market, was also encouraged to see more help for those struggling to get mortgages but they, like many others, had hoped for the support to be introduced earlier.

Mr Davies added: “In several corners of Shropshire many people have rightly asked why the new Mortgage Guarantee plan doesn’t come into effect this year – instead of waiting another 12 months. I agree, but we must look at the full picture. It is so important we take a ‘glass half full’ attitude to plans which will ultimately boost the sector.

“Growth in Shropshire’s property sector will support economic recovery in towns where it is needed most.

“It’s a bold move by Mr Osborne but his three-year plan should be applauded as anything that can be done to help people get a foot on the ladder, or to move up a notch and expand into a larger home, is nothing but good news.”