Property Review - October 2026
Thank you Howard Davis for writing this article. Howard is Managing Directory of Howard Independent East Agents.
What is My First Home?
Our new prime minister has promised a government built on two principles: hope and honesty. Those seem like sound principles for a new attempt to help first time buyers, called My First Home.
Before looking at the new scheme, it is worth asking what we learned from the last one.
Help to Buy, which ended in 2023, was designed to make home ownership more accessible. Buyers needed a 5% deposit, and the government provided an interest free equity loan of up to 20% of the property’s value. More than 328,000 first time buyers used the scheme to purchase a home.
There were clear benefits. Help to Buy aided people who might otherwise have struggled to get onto the property ladder and was estimated to have increased the supply of new build homes. But there were also criticisms. By increasing buyers’ purchasing power, the scheme may have contributed to higher prices, particularly for new build properties and in areas where demand was already strong. It also tended to benefit households already close to affording a home.
So what will change with My First Home?
The biggest difference is how much cash a buyer needs to find. Under the new scheme, first time buyers will require only 2.5% of the property price, compared with 5% under the old scheme. For someone paying rent and trying to save for a deposit at the same time, that 2.5% could be the difference between owning a home and remaining a tenant.
But here is where honesty comes in. A smaller deposit means the purchaser starts with less equity in the property. If he or she has a 77.5% mortgage and a 20% government equity loan, 97.5% of the property is effectively financed by borrowing.
That makes getting through the front door easier - but it also means the buyer steps onto the first rung of the property ladder with less equity and greater exposure to fluctuations in the property’s value.
Oh, and here is another dose of honesty. My First Home applies only to new build properties. The big house builders have already seen their share prices surge since the announcement. But let’s face it, we badly need more new homes, so that is good. Sadly, the new scheme will do little for the rest of the housing market - and nothing to reduce moving costs or the time it takes to buy and sell.
In all honesty will the November budget address one or more of these issues? Let’s hope it will.
