Brookbanks Webinar: Your First Home
In this webinar, we explore the Government’s newly announced Your First Home scheme and what it could mean for first-time buyers, housebuilders, developers and the wider residential market. Using market evidence, industry data and lessons from the previous Help to Buy programme, Richard Moorcroft and Tori Hall explain how the scheme could influence housing delivery and where the key challenges remain.
Understanding the Opportunity
The Your First Home scheme is designed to help first-time buyers purchase a new-build home in England through a 20% government equity loan alongside a deposit of just 2.5%. Whilst details are still emerging, the proposal is already being viewed as a significant intervention in a market that is currently experiencing the lowest level of planning approvals seen in over a decade.
The presenters discuss how reducing deposit requirements could widen access to homeownership, increase buyer confidence and stimulate demand across the residential sector. However, they also highlight that the effectiveness of the scheme will ultimately depend on details yet to be confirmed, including price caps, income thresholds, developer contributions and the scheme’s long-term structure.
Learning from Help to Buy
A key theme throughout the webinar is the legacy of Help to Buy. The scheme supported hundreds of thousands of households and helped drive increased housing delivery, but it also generated debate around affordability, house prices and value for taxpayers.
Drawing on these lessons, Richard and Tori explain why certainty, consistency and long-term thinking will be critical to the success of Your First Home. Short-term policy interventions can stimulate demand, but sustained housing delivery requires confidence from developers, investors and the wider supply chain.
Can Housing Supply Keep Pace?
The discussion also examines one of the industry’s most pressing questions: can housing supply respond quickly enough if buyer demand returns?
Planning constraints, utility capacity challenges and increasing development costs all continue to impact housing delivery. The webinar explores how water, wastewater and electricity infrastructure are already restricting development in some locations, while rising construction and regulatory costs continue to affect scheme viability.
The presenters emphasise that boosting demand alone will not deliver more homes. Planning reform, infrastructure investment and support for developers of all sizes must accompany any buyer support scheme if long-term housing targets are to be achieved.
Positioning for Growth
For developers, housebuilders and land promoters, preparation is key. The webinar outlines practical steps organisations can take now, from reviewing land portfolios and testing viability assumptions to accelerating planning applications and infrastructure strategies ahead of further government announcements.
With significant details expected to emerge through future policy updates and budget announcements, those who are ready to act early are likely to be best positioned to benefit as market confidence returns.
Looking Ahead
The session concludes by considering what still needs to be confirmed before the industry can fully assess the impact of the scheme. Questions around developer contributions, regional pricing caps, loan terms and supporting infrastructure investment will all play an important role in shaping outcomes.
While the announcement has already generated a positive market response, the presenters stress that Your First Home should be viewed as the beginning of a longer journey towards increasing housing delivery, rather than a standalone solution.
Want to Learn More?
If you’re interested in understanding how the Your First Home scheme could influence housing delivery, development viability and future market opportunities, watch the full webinar for further insight.
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