Nearly half of potential first-time buyers feel they are more likely to get on the housing ladder due to the Government's FirstBuy scheme, but more than a third are still unaware of the initiative, research from Rightmove.co.uk has suggested.
FirstBuy was announced in the March Budget with £500 million Government backing, enabling people to clamber on to the first rung of the property ladder by buying a new-build home with a deposit of just 5%.
Rightmove's survey of 2,400 people found that 45% said they were more likely to be able to buy a house due to the scheme.
But in terms of awareness, while most people had heard of the scheme, 37% said they had not.
Of those who knew about the initiative, 22% said they did not understand whether it could help them purchase for the first time.
Rightmove director Miles Shipside said: "FirstBuy was introduced to help more first-time buyers get on to the property ladder, so with nearly half of prospective first-time buyers stating that they are now more likely to buy thanks to the scheme it seems this could be a real boost for many.
"However, given such a positive response it must be asked whether more can be done to drive awareness amongst the 37% of first-time buyers that did not know it existed."
Under the FirstBuy scheme, a further 20% deposit is provided by the Government and selected builders in the form of an interest-free loan and the rest of the finance comes from a 75% mortgage.
Young buyers have been increasingly turning to "the bank of mum and dad" for help to secure their first home due to the need for large deposits.
Housing minister Grant Shapps said: "This research demonstrates how our efforts to pull out all the stops for first-time buyers are helping to tackle the key barrier they often face in getting that much-needed deposit together. I am keen to ensure anyone wanting to get on to the property ladder knows what help is available through the FirstBuy scheme, and I will be looking at what more we can do to raise awareness of this and the other help available."