The government has outlined more details about its ‘First Homes’ initiative.
The Minister of State for Housing Christopher Pincher said in a Written Ministerial Statement that the homes built under the ‘First Homes’ scheme had to adhere to the following conditions.
- New builds are to be sold at a 30 per cent discount, which will be kept in perpetuity.
- The homes are to be ringfenced for first-time buyers.
- The market price on the homes is to be kept at £250,000 outside of Greater London, but rising to £420,000 within.
- The household income of the first-time buyers should not exceed £80,000 outside of Greater London, or £90,000 within.
- The homes can be set aside by local authorities for key workers and for those with a connection to the local area.
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, said that the hoes were ‘a creative initiative’ that could work because it was upping the supply of property in the market, and not just encouraging people to buy.
He added: “That is key because we have a very busy market right now, full of hungry buyers, and there is a danger that introducing more buyers without increasing supply could further push the supply and demand out of balance, meaning house prices would continue to rise.”
