By Ahmed Abdelsalam
The UK government has published the property price caps for its new Your First Home scheme across England, aiming to help thousands of first-time buyers onto the housing ladder. The scheme allows eligible buyers to purchase a new-build home with a deposit as low as 2.5%, a repayment mortgage from a participating lender, and a government equity loan worth 20% of the purchase price, interest-free for five years.
Eligibility and launch timeline
Applications are expected to open in February, with the first sales completing in April. Buyers must be first-time purchasers, intend to live in the property as their main home, and have a total annual household income of £110,000 or less outside London, or £140,000 or less within London. They must also pass affordability checks from a participating lender.
Price caps reflect regional variation
Price caps range from £215,000 in North Lincolnshire to £650,000 in central London boroughs such as Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and the City of London. Other low-cap areas include Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, and Redcar and Cleveland at £220,000. The government said the caps are set to ensure the scheme supports access to modest homes while recognising market differences across England.
Connells group research director Aneisha Beveridge said the caps should give buyers a choice of flats and smaller houses in most areas, ensuring healthy take-up. She noted that while larger houses mostly sit above the caps, this is reasonable for a scheme targeting first-time buyers, and the caps may help revive the flat market by encouraging apartment purchases.
