The Chancellor George Osborne last week took time out of his busy schedule to join housebuilder Crest Nicholson at its Denby Bank development in Ripley, Derbyshire.
The visit formed part of a wider tour of the Midlands being undertaken by the Chancellor following his 2013 Budget announcement last month, and saw the Chancellor, together with local leader Nigel Mills MP, enjoying a tour of the site to see how the latest measures to boost the residential property market are working in practice.
In his 2013 Budget last month, the Chancellor expressed a commitment to boosting the supply of new homes, and unveiled a series of measures under the Help to Buy initiative designed to help more people buy a new home.
The scheme kicked in last week, and will offer government-backed shared equity mortgages to new homes buyers - both first-time and homemovers.
Homebuyers using the scheme will only have to put down 5% deposits on new homes costing up to £600,000, with the government putting up 20%, meaning that buyers will be able to get a 75% mortgage. The equity loan is repayable on the sale of the property, or at any other time.
Crest Nicholson's Denby Bank has already proved extremely popular amongst local purchasers and there has been significant interest in FirstBuy and similar shared equity initiatives.
The Chancellor said: "We've got a brand new scheme called Help to Buy that is aimed right at developments like Denby Bank. It's for young families that want to get on the housing ladder or move up it. Help to Buy is already operational, with one family on this site already being helped through the scheme and another being helped later this week.
"This is also about supporting work though. The great thing about this site is that you have lots of people working hard and that's creating revenue for our economy and creating jobs in the area."
Stephen Stone, chief executive at Crest Nicholson, added: "It's encouraging to see the government recognising the role UK construction and house building can have in driving growth. The construction industry employs nearly one tenth of the entire UK workforce and continued investment in the sector is essential. The latest housing measures, with their renewed focus on supporting the industry's ability to deliver much-needed new homes, will encourage house builders such as Crest Nicholson to increase output, thereby creating the jobs and skills that are vital for the future of the economy."