Your First Home: how to win the first-time buyers the new scheme will create...
A 2.5% deposit and a 20% government equity loan will bring a wave of first-time buyers to new-build sites. They grew up online and expect to buy online. Spaciable gives them a digital journey from the first enquiry to the first repair, under your brand.
Updated 28 October 2026 · Rules confirmed at the Budget
Trusted by housebuilders and developers including
What is the Your First Home scheme?
Your First Home is a government equity loan scheme for first-time buyers in England. Confirmed at the Budget on 28 October 2026, it lets buyers purchase a new-build home from a participating developer with a 2.5% deposit and a 20% government equity loan, interest-free for five years. It is the first equity loan scheme since Help to Buy.
2.5%
Deposit
Buyers need a deposit of at least 2.5% of the purchase price.
20%
Government equity loan
A government equity loan covers 20% of the price, alongside a repayment mortgage from a participating lender.
5 years
Interest-free
No interest for five years, then 1.5% in year 6 and 3% from year 7.
New build
Participating developers only
Homes must be bought from participating developers, who pay a fee of 1–4% of the sale price on each home sold through the scheme.
Targeted
Income caps and price limits
Household income of £110,000 or less (£140,000 in London), and homes within local authority price caps, such as £355,000 in Manchester and £650,000 in inner London.
End 2026
Pre-registration and developer sign-up
Both open by the end of December 2026. Applications follow in February 2027, with first sales from April.
A £300,000 new-build home
Illustrative only. Price caps vary by local authority, so check the cap for your area.
Buyer deposit · 2.5%
£7,500
Equity loan · 20%
£60,000
Mortgage · 77.5%
£232,500
A 95% mortgage on the same home would need a £15,000 deposit. On a £300,000 home, the government estimates £1,248 a month in years 1–5, against £1,530 with a 95% mortgage.
Loan interest after five years: £900 in year 6, then £1,800 a year from year 7.
Sources: GOV.UK guidance, GOV.UK announcement.
An equity loan could take new-build affordability for renting families from 7% to 30%.
Only 7% of renting families can afford a new family home with a 95% mortgage. An equity loan would raise that to 30%. Savills estimates a new equity loan scheme could support up to 85,000 extra completions by March 2029. The developers ready to onboard those buyers are the ones who will win them.
The government expects the scheme to help 70,000 households, with £4.7bn of funding over five years. First-year funding is capped at £700m and managed through developers, so being ready early matters.
85,000extra completions a new equity loan scheme could support by March 2029
Renting families who can afford a new family home
Sources: Savills - The Case for Demand Support (pages 17 and 20), GOV.UK guidance.
More first-time buyers. More developers competing for them.
As the scheme brings first-time buyers back to new build, developers will compete hard to win them, and the buying experience will be a deciding factor. Most of these buyers are digital natives who bank, rent and shop on their phones, and they will expect the same at every stage of buying a home.
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Register interest in a tapFrom a listing, a social ad or a QR code on site, with an instant reply.
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Reserve and pay onlineNo trip to the sales office to sign forms or hand over a reservation fee.
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See progress without chasingLegal, mortgage and build milestones visible in their own app, around the clock.
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Book meetings themselvesSite visits, spec appointments and home demonstrations in their calendar.
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Report issues with a photoSnags and defects logged in minutes, with updates until they are fixed.
How Spaciable onboards first-time buyers, step by step.
One connected platform, from registering interest to reporting a snag. Select a stage.
Every enquiry lands in your CRM.
When a buyer registers interest, the enquiry is captured and enriched automatically. Follow-up starts within the hour, with data your team can use to personalise the call.
- ✓Instant capture, no inbox
- ✓Enriched buyer data
- ✓Automatic follow-up
- ✓Full marketing attribution
See this journey running for your developments.
Book a 30-minute demo, or start with our free first-time buyer readiness checklist.
More buyers, without more admin.
A scheme-driven rise in enquiries can swamp a sales team. Spaciable's workflows run the repeatable steps for you. The CRM triggers each one, so every buyer gets a prompt, personal response and your team handles the exceptions.
Every enquiry is captured, qualified and nurtured automatically.
- Live availability checks
- Personalised follow-up within the hour
- Full marketing attribution
The lead process runs itself, from enquiry to attribution.
A reservation triggers the paperwork, payment and buyer account at once.
- Reservation pack issued
- Deposit reconciled against finance
- Buyer invited to the app
One action instead of fourteen.
Progression is tracked rather than chased, with buyers guided through each step.
- Milestones monitored across every chain
- Buyer updated at each step
- Completion date kept accurate
Exceptions come to you, not the whole list.
Data stays consistent so admin never delays the completion date.
- CRM data pulled into Spaciable
- Handover pack assembled
- Pre-inspection carried out
A celebration on completion day, not a scramble.
When buyers have more choice, the experience decides.
Your brand, from first click
Spaciable is fully white-labelled. Buyers download your app and see your name at every step, which builds trust with people buying for the first time.
The fastest response on the patch
Automated follow-up means your team replies first, while competitors are still working through their inbox.
Reassurance for nervous buyers
First-time buyers have the most questions. Clear milestones, FAQs, videos and documents answer them before they call.
Aftercare that earns recommendations
Quick, visible issue resolution turns new homeowners into advocates, which matters when buyers compare reviews between developers.
42%
less time spent on property handover and admin
75%
faster response to resident issues
85%
less compliance admin
Your First Home, answered.
Based on the government guidance published at the Budget on 28 October 2026.
What is the Your First Home scheme?
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A government equity loan scheme in England that lets first-time buyers purchase a new-build home from a participating developer with a deposit of at least 2.5%, a 20% government equity loan and a repayment mortgage. The loan is interest-free for five years.
How does the maths work on a £300,000 home?
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The buyer pays a £7,500 deposit, the government lends £60,000 and the buyer takes a mortgage of £232,500.
When does it open?
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Customer pre-registration and the first developer registrations open by the end of December 2026. Customer applications open in February 2027, and the first sales are expected in April 2027.
What happens after five years?
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The equity loan is interest-free for years 1 to 5. Interest is then 1.5% in year 6 and 3% from year 7. Interest payments don't reduce the amount owed.
How is the loan repaid?
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Buyers repay the same share of the home’s value, normally when they sell, so the amount rises or falls with the home’s value. They can repay some or all of it earlier. They own the home outright from completion.
Which buyers and homes qualify?
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First-time buyers in England buying their main home, with household income of £110,000 or less (£140,000 in London), and a mortgage from a participating lender. The home must be a new build from a participating developer, within the local authority price cap. Caps include £375,000 in Reading, £220,000 in Middlesbrough, £500,000 in outer London and £650,000 in inner London. A full list is due shortly.
How many more first-time buyers could the scheme help?
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The government expects the scheme to help 70,000 households, with £4.7bn of funding over five years. Savills estimates a new equity loan scheme could support up to 85,000 extra completions by March 2029. Only 7% of renting families can afford a new family home with a 95% mortgage, and an equity loan would raise that to 30%.
What do developers contribute?
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A fee on each home sold through the scheme, based on final sale price: 1% on the first 100 homes each year, 3% on homes 101 to 250 and 4% above 250. A developer selling 500 homes a year would pay an average of 3.1%.
When can developers sign up?
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Developer registrations open by the end of December 2026, under a participation agreement. Developers of all sizes can take part.
How does Spaciable help housebuilders onboard first-time buyers?
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Spaciable gives every buyer a branded digital journey: registering interest, paying a reservation fee online, tracking legal progress, moving in, reporting issues and booking appointments. The CRM and agentic workflows automate the follow-up, paperwork and updates behind each step.
Can Spaciable run under our own brand?
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Yes. The sales listing, buyer portal and homeowner app are white-labelled with your logo, colours and content.