Your First Home scheme price caps revealed for Bassetlaw and across England
Property price caps for the Government's new ‘Your First Home’ scheme have now been revealed.
The scheme aims to give thousands of households in England the chance to step on the housing ladder, with eligible buyers able to buy a new-build home using a deposit of at least 2.5 per cent of the purchase price, a repayment mortgage from a participating lender and a government equity loan worth 20 per cent of the purchase price, interest-free for five years.
Price caps differ around the country, with North Lincolnshire at the lower end, it being set at £215,000, while other parts of the country have price caps as high as £650,000, including areas of central London, such as Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea.
The price cap for Bassetlaw is set at £245,000, on a par with areas such as Bolsover and Doncaster, both set at £240,000, while neighbouring Mansfield is higher at £270,000, and Newark and Sherwood is £275,000.
The scheme is expected to open for applications in February, with the first sales in April.
Buyers will normally need to be a first-time buyer, buying a new-build home in England, within the relevant local price cap.
They will need to use 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 be able to obtain a mortgage from a participating lender which will carry out affordability checks.
Aneisha Beveridge, Connells group research director, said: “The level at which the caps have been set should give would-be first-time buyers access to a choice of both flats and smaller houses in most areas, ensuring healthy take-up of the scheme.
“While larger houses mostly sit above the price caps, this isn’t unreasonable for a scheme designed to support first-time buyers.
“In the short term, these figures show what existing stock can likely be sold using Your First Home, but longer term, the caps will start to shape what homes housebuilders decide to deliver.
“The new price caps may also help breathe life back into the flat market, by encouraging more first-time buyers to consider apartments in order to benefit from the interest-free equity loan.”