Help to Buy has caused house prices to rise by more than £8,000 each

Further proof if we need it that the policy is bad for the market

Help to Buy has pushed house prices up by 3% on average, or £8,250 per house.

Research by housing charity Shelter found the £26bn policy, which aims to make it easier for first time buyers to get on the housing market, was responsible for raising house prices – something that has been suspected in the past.

Help to Buy is more popular than ever, with a record 4,745 people using the scheme in June, and nearly 120,000 overall since it began.

The figures were “proof that Help to Buy hasn’t helped many people at all, instead it’s pushed a home of their own even further out of reach,” according to Campbell Robb, Shelter’s chief executive.

“Investing in building genuinely affordable homes, not more piecemeal schemes, is the only way to give back hope to all those bearing the brunt of our housing shortage,” he said.