Speaking on the BBC’s The Daily Politics programme, Prisk said that the number of completions was on the rise, something which would help the housing market get moving again.

“Completions are up 8%, and that’s an important figure to use because completions become homes whereas starts sometimes stay as foundations, so we are on target for an improvement.

“There’s a lot of cause for concern, this is a dysfunctional market and it has been like this, whether looking at the owner occupied or rented sector, for 10, 15, 20 years.

“If we help with supply and demand we can make a difference. Is it a tough market? Yes it is, and I don’t want to over promise, but what we can do is make a difference.

“We don’t want to create the next boom and bust, but we want to make sure we are investing. We are investing in affordable homes and the private rented sector, which does actually make a difference.”

Former chartered surveyor Prisk, who replaced Grant Shapps as housing minister at the start of September, added that the FirstBuy sales had been positive in the year since its launch.

“In its first 12 months we have seen 3,000 sales and another 8,000 completions. This year we are going to more than double that, so we are looking at 27,500 first-time buyers helped in total.

“FirstBuy is about helping first-time buyers, the affordable housing programme will also create 170,000 additional homes in that market.”

It has also been announced that the FirstBuy scheme is to receive an extra £280m in funding, with 41 developers set to share the first £40m allocation from this fund.