Lloyds caps Help to Buy 1 at £150,000

The cap, which moved the goalposts from the previous limit of £500,000, applies to all types of shared equity loan ownership.

It therefore does not impact the Help to Buy 2 mortgage guarantee scheme.

The measure applies across the group’s mortgage brands, including Halifax and Lloyds Bank.

A Lloyds Banking Group spokesman said: “This is a prudent, short-term change that reflects the fact that we currently hold around a 50% share of this market and is a further step to focus our activity on supporting first time buyers who have limited options to get on to the ladder.

“We remain committed to supporting the affordable housing sector and new build market, recently extending our Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme to allow applications for those with a 5% deposit on new build properties.”

Lloyds added that the measure protects it from exposure to the shared equity and shared ownership markets, where it currently holds a 50% market share.

The measure also impacts shared equity schemes for housebuilders, including products from Bellway Housing Trust and the Persimmon Helping Hand shared equity scheme.