<p>The chancellor Philip Hammond has confirmed that Help to Buy 2 - the mortgage guarantee scheme - is to close to new loans at the end of the year.</p> <p>Help to Buy 1 - the equity loan scheme, much used by UK housebuilders, is to continue.</p> <p>Help to Buy 2 - mortgage guarantee was introduced in 2013 to increase the availability of high loan to value mortgages, but with confidence returning to the market lenders are now offering higher value loans outside the scheme.</p> <p>To June 2016, 86,341 loans have been made under Help to Buy 2 and 91,789 under Help to Buy 1, with about 80% of the loans going to first time buyers.</p> <p>HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley said:"Help to Buy continues to drive demand for new build homes by making home ownership more affordable and realistic. Its success is directly leading to more homes being built as it provides the confidence developers need to invest in the land and people required to increase their output."</p>