The new Your First Home scheme could boost first-time buyer demand for new-build homes. We look at the opportunities and key considerations.

Published: 10 November 2026
Author: George Rickman

The Government has published further details of Your First Home, a new scheme intended to help first-time buyers purchase new-build homes with the support of a Government equity loan.

What do we know so far?

The scheme is expected to open for applications in February 2027 and will allow eligible first-time buyers to purchase qualifying new-build homes using a minimum 2.5% deposit, a conventional repayment mortgage and a Government equity loan worth 20% of the purchase price. The equity loan will be interest-free for the first five years.

Eligibility will be subject to income thresholds and local property price caps, and the scheme will only apply to qualifying new-build homes in England. Like previous shared-equity models, the amount repayable under the equity loan will rise or fall in line with the value of the property. Developers wishing to participate will be required to enter into participation arrangements and pay scheme fees.

Opportunities

For buyers, the obvious attraction is improved affordability. By reducing both the deposit required and the amount to be borrowed from a mortgage lender, the scheme may help purchasers who can comfortably service monthly repayments but struggle to save a significant deposit.

For developers, the scheme could widen the pool of potential purchasers and provide additional support for new-build sales at a time when affordability remains a key challenge across many housing markets.

Points to watch

As with any Government-backed initiative, the detail will matter. Income thresholds, local price caps and lender participation are all likely to influence how widely the scheme can be used in practice.

There will also be a cost for participating developers through the scheme fee structure, and it remains to be seen whether the regional price caps strike the right balance between affordability and market realities, particularly in higher-value locations. Developers will also be assessing whether the local price caps align with product mix across existing consented schemes, particularly in higher-value markets.

What next?

The announcement provides a helpful indication of the Government's direction of travel, but many of the operational details are still to come. Further guidance, full eligibility criteria and scheme documentation are expected before applications open in 2027. Until then, buyers and developers alike will be watching closely to see whether Your First Home can deliver meaningful support to both home ownership and housing delivery.

If you have any questions about the Your First Home scheme or its potential impact on residential development and new-build sales, please contact a member of Shoosmiths' Housebuilding team.