More than 1 million aspiring homebuyers have opened Help to Buy ISAs, government-backed savings accounts, designed to help people save money for a deposit to buy their first property.

The tax-efficient savings scheme enables people to put away a maximum of £200 a month towards a first home deposit and offers a government bonus of 25% of the savings pot, with the government willing to contribute up to £3,000.

More than £1.8bn has been saved into the scheme since it was launched by former chancellor George Osborne in 2015, as many existing renters look to get a foot on the housing ladder.

“Our Help to Buy schemes continue to prove hugely popular across the country,” said Stephen Barclay, economic secretary to the Treasury.

The Help-to-Buy ISA, which can be used to fund UK house purchases worth up to £250,000, or £450,000 in London, will be phased out in 2019, and replaced with a new ‘Lifetime ISA’, or Lisa, which offers a more generous government boost of an additional £1,000 a year.