The Intermediary – October 2026 - Flipbook - Page 28
R A P I D R E AC T I O N
Your First Home
P rop e r t y
Predictions
Industry experts weigh in on what the Government’s
‘Your First Home’ scheme could mean for first-time buyers
Joseph Lane
founder of Mortgage Lane
challenging, and targeted stimulus that
helps first-time buyers overcome the deposit
barrier can play an important role in getting
transactions moving again.
This scheme might not be as good as it seems.
The key, however, will be in the detail. Higher
The Government won’t simply be lending you
borrowing costs and wider affordability
20% of the purchase price to repay later as a
pressures remain significant barriers, so I don’t
fixed amount. It takes an equity stake equivalent
think a scheme of this nature will suddenly
to 20% of the property’s value.
create a surge in transactions or, on its own,
If that property rises in value to £300,000,
lead to significant house price inflation.
the Government’s 20% share becomes £60,000.
What it can do is give buyers who are currently
Buyers therefore repay £10,000 more than they
struggling to build a sufficient deposit a realistic
originally borrowed.
route onto the housing ladder, while also
The reverse is also true: if the property falls
in value, the equity repayment falls too. This is
a fundamentally different arrangement from a
supporting confidence in the new-build market.
Measures that improve access to
homeownership and help unlock demand are
conventional fixed loan, the basis on which the
positive, provided they are carefully targeted
previous ‘Help to Buy’ scheme operated.
and work alongside wider efforts to improve
Buyers aren’t simply being given a 2.5% route
into the housing market; they’re being given a
2.5% route into new-build housing.
That caveat matters because new-builds are
already significantly more expensive on average,
meaning a 2.5% deposit could still take a while
affordability and housing supply.
Chris Treadwell
head of asset management
at Nextius Capital
to save for. In September 2025, the average newbuild home sold for £355,000, compared with
I am cautiously optimistic about ‘Your First
£290,000 for an existing property. New-builds
Home’. We’re operating in a difficult property
also accounted for just 5.6% of all property sales
market, with sales subdued by affordability
in England.
pressures, cautious buyers and higher
Location of new-build properties could
be another pain-point for potential buyers.
The Government’s current housebuilding
borrowing costs.
There are plenty of young professionals
earning good salaries who can afford the
strategy is increasingly focused on large-scale
monthly mortgage cost but simply can’t get the
developments and ‘new towns’, including sites
deposit together.
around Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Milton
Keynes and Bedfordshire.
That is obviously encouraging in the long
High rents and the cost of living make saving
increasingly difficult. Your First Home could
plug that gap with a 2.5% deposit, helping more
term, but a cheap deposit doesn’t help much if
people onto the property ladder. Fantastic, but
the available home isn’t where the buyer needs
it’s not risk-free.
to live for work, family or transport.
Mark Johnson
sales and marketing director
at Griggs Homes
Could increased purchasing power fuel
house price inflation? Does it actually improve
affordability, or simply make existing homes
more accessible?
For me, it’s the most interesting housing
initiative since Help to Buy and could inject
demand quickly, with a significant potential
26
The announcement of Your First Home is
chain reaction across the wider market. The big
welcome news. The housing market remains
question for me: who really captures the benefit?
The Intermediary | October 2026
