The controversial Help to Buy scheme ends this month - and experts say it could factor in to house prices falling.
The Help to Buy equity loan scheme was launched in 2013 to help homebuyers with small deposits.
The Government programme lets first-time buyers buy a new house or flat with a 5% deposit.
People using the scheme then buy a house using a Governmment deposit of 20% of the property value - or 40% in London.
Around 360,000 people have bought a property using the scheme.
But it is now closing to new applications on October 31 at 6pm. It ends completely on March 31, 2023.
But critics say it has pushed up house prices, as developers charged more for new properties knowing buyers are getting Government cash.
Interactive Investor senior personal finance analyst Myron Jobson said: "While not a roaring success, over 361,000 properties were bought under the scheme, giving hundreds of thousands of people a leg up onto the property ladder.
"However, while well intentioned, the scheme had an unintended consequence of artificially inflating portions of the housing market, with developers hiking up prices for their Help to Buy-eligible homes."
The big question is: will house prices fall when the Help to Buy scheme ends?
Experts say the answer is 'maybe' - but property prices might be set for a fall anyway.
House prices are set to drop over the next year due to surging mortgage rates with a chief economist saying "storm clouds are visible".
Experts say house prices are set to drop by 10-15% over the next two years.
The end of Help to Buy will definitely make new build homes more unaffordable for many first-time buyers.
David Hollingworth, of L&C Mortgages, said: "It's not easy to say how it will play out. Is demand falling in the market full stop?
"It's been around for so long it's such a big part of the new build market. It's a big moment. So many people will have been planning on Help to Buy when looking to buy their first property."
Jobson said: "The end of Help to Buy could take some of the rise out of new build house prices.
"The likelihood of higher interest rates to combat soaring inflation means things are set to get tougher from an affordability perspective – with fast-rising rents offering no respite.
"However, rapidly climbing mortgage rates forcing home shoppers to back off a bit could be the undoing of the surge in property values. It could allow inventory levels to rise and, in turn, result in a transition to a market with lower levels of home price growth."
How does the Help to Buy scheme work?
The Help to Buy equity loan scheme lets savers buy a home with a deposit of at least 5%.
The Government then lends you up to 20% of the property price, or 40% in London, and you get a mortgage on the rest of the property value.
The idea is that housebuyers then need a much smaller mortgage, helping them get on the ladder.
However, you'll have to start paying interest on the Government loan after five years, at a rate of 1.75%, so keep in mind this added cost to your repayments.
After the sixth year these 1.75% repayments go up every year by inflation plus 2%.
Another thing to remember with the Help to Buy scheme is that these repayments are interest-only.
That means you are not actually paying the Government back, you are only paying off interest on that debt.
You will still need to repay the Government loan in full.
You can do this at any time, though most housebuyers will do it when they eventually sell the house or pay off the mortgage.
Importantly, what you need to repay the Government is based on your house price at the point you repay - not on how much you borrowed.
So if your house price has gone up, you repay more.
On the other hand, if your house price falls then you pay back less.
You can't buy any property using the scheme.
Only new build houses and flats built by developers registered with Help to Buy are eligible.
How much house you can get under the Help to Buy Scheme
This varies depending on where you want to buy.
- North East: £186,100
- North West: £224,400
- Yorkshire and the Humber: £228,100
- East Midlands: £261,900
- West Midlands: £255,600
- East of England: £407,400
- London: £600,000
- South East: £437,600
- South West: £349,000
