Only one in five people were able to name one of the three main schemes correctly.
Almost half of adults (47%) are unaware that there are schemes to help first-time buyers get onto the housing ladder, online mortgage broker Trussle has found.
Whilst 53% of people were aware of the homeownership schemes available, 47% were unable to identify them.
One in five people were able to correctly name at least one of the three main schemes which include the Help to Buy ISA, the Help to Buy Equity Loan and Shared Ownership.
Ishaan Malhi, chief executive and founder of Trussle, said: “This research uncovers the scale of misunderstanding around the existing housing schemes designed to help first-time buyers onto the property ladder.
“Significant numbers of people feel locked out of homeownership and this lack of awareness around their options is simply making things worse.
“The truth is that the complexities around homeownership, including mortgages, present a wider industry problem around clarity.
“We’ve built a homeownership tool to help people try and navigate these schemes and find out which they could qualify for.
“We will shortly be introducing specialist teams of brokers to specifically manage applications via homeownership schemes too - but education for first-time buyers should be more widely accessible.
“If these schemes were simplified, prospective buyers would be more likely to understand the options available to them, more quickly.
“We want all first-time buyers to feel properly supported on their homeownership journey and maintain any momentum in today’s already tough market.”
Overall, nearly two-thirds (58%) of people believe homeownership schemes are too complicated to understandand among 18-34 year-olds, this figure rises to 64%.
Just 8% of people thought that the schemes were easy to understand.
