Published 15 September 2026 | By FJP Investment Editorial Team

Updated 28 September 2026: When this article was first published on 15 September, the government had not announced a successor to Help to Buy. That position changed on 26 September 2026 with the announcement of Your First Home, a proposed equity-loan scheme expected to support eligible first-time buyers purchasing new-build homes with deposits from 2.5%. The final design, cost and implementation timetable are due to be confirmed at the Budget on 28 October 2026.

A major government-commissioned evaluation concluded that England’s former Help to Buy equity-loan scheme delivered “very high” value for money and generated an estimated £25.1 billion in net social value.

Eleven days after that evaluation was published, the government announced that a new equity-loan programme called Your First Home would be confirmed at the Budget.

The timing is significant. Although the government has not described Your First Home as a relaunch of Help to Buy, it adopts a recognisable structure: a government-backed equity loan supporting the purchase of a new-build property.

The announced proposal goes further on the initial deposit. Eligible first-time buyers are expected to be able to purchase with a deposit of at least 2.5%, supported by a government-backed equity loan of up to 20%.

However, the scheme is not yet open. Household-income limits, local property-price caps, post-interest-free charges, costs and implementation dates remain to be confirmed.

This article examines the original £25.1 billion Help to Buy evaluation, what it tells us about equity-loan schemes and how the subsequent Your First Home announcement changes the policy debate.

What changed on 26 September 2026?

When the Help to Buy evaluation was released on 15 September, no replacement scheme had been announced.

At that stage, the report had reopened the political argument over whether equity-loan support could return, but there were no confirmed eligibility requirements, funding arrangements or implementation plans.

That changed on 26 September when the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced Your First Home.

According to the official announcement, the proposed scheme in England is expected to:

• support deposits from 2.5%;
• provide government-backed equity loans of up to 20%;
• be available to eligible first-time buyers;
• apply to new-build homes purchased from participating developers;
• include an initial interest-free period;
• apply household-income limits;
• use local property-price caps;
• require participating developers to contribute towards its costs; and
• operate in England.

The government says the scheme is intended for people with sufficient income to support home ownership but who would otherwise be unable to overcome the deposit barrier.

The final design, cost and implementation timetable are due to be announced by the Chancellor at the Budget on 28 October 2026.

Our separate guide to Your First Home and the proposed 2.5% deposit structure examines what has been announced, what remains unknown and the potential risks for first-time buyers.

What did the Help to Buy review find?

Help to Buy supported the purchase of 387,091 properties in England between April 2013 and March 2023, according to official scheme statistics.

Of those purchases, 328,242 were made by first-time buyers.

The independent Help to Buy evaluation, commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, examined the scheme’s effect on home ownership, housing supply, developer performance, property prices, customer experience and the public finances.

Its headline conclusion was that Help to Buy represented “very high” value for money.

The evaluation estimated that the scheme generated £25.1 billion in net present social value, measured in 2024/25 prices over its lifetime. That calculation includes projected income from equity-loan redemptions extending to 2039/40.

The review attributes approximately £28.6 billion of benefits to the additional housing supply it estimates was supported by the scheme. Against this, it calculates a net public-sector cost of approximately £3.6 billion after projected loan repayments, interest and other income are considered.

This does not mean the government made a £25.1 billion cash profit.

The social-value calculation primarily uses land-value uplift as a measure of the wider benefit created by increasing housing supply. It is an economic evaluation rather than a statement showing £25.1 billion deposited into the Treasury.

Did Help to Buy enable people to purchase who otherwise could not?

The answer is more complicated than the headline figures suggest.

According to the evaluation’s customer survey, 46% of Help to Buy customers said they could not have bought a home without the scheme.

The remaining 54% reported that they could have purchased without Help to Buy, although they may have bought a smaller, older or less expensive property.

A separate mortgage-affordability calculation produced lower estimates of additional home ownership. It suggested that 22% of customers under the original scheme and 38% under the later version could not have afforded an average first-time-buyer property in their local area without Help to Buy.

The evaluation also found that Help to Buy did not overcome affordability barriers equally throughout England.

Its evidence suggests that the scheme increased first-time-buyer mortgage sales in some places but had less effect in areas that were already particularly expensive. Those areas also experienced some of the largest price increases following the scheme’s introduction.

This evidence helps explain why Your First Home is expected to include household-income limits and local property-price caps.

The announced targeting appears intended to reduce the number of equity loans supporting purchases that could have occurred without public assistance. The effectiveness of that targeting cannot be assessed until the actual limits and eligibility tests are published.

How did Help to Buy work?

The Help to Buy equity-loan scheme was introduced in England in April 2013 for buyers purchasing newly built homes.

Purchasers normally provided a deposit of at least 5%, while the government offered an equity loan worth up to 20% of the property’s value. The maximum equity loan was increased to 40% in London from February 2016.

The original scheme was available to first-time buyers and existing homeowners, although first-time buyers accounted for most purchases.

A revised version launched in 2021 was restricted to first-time buyers and introduced regional property-price caps. It closed to new applications in October 2022, with final qualifying completions taking place in 2023.

Because the government assistance was an equity loan, it was not a fixed cash discount or grant.

The government held a percentage interest in the property. If the home increased in value, the amount required to redeem the equity loan normally increased. If the value fell, the equivalent percentage could be lower, subject to the scheme’s terms and valuation process.

Help to Buy included a five-year interest-free period. Interest and management charges subsequently applied, and the equity loan normally had to be repaid when the property was sold, the mortgage term ended or another repayment event occurred.

How could Your First Home differ from Help to Buy?

Your First Home is a new policy proposal, not simply the reopening of the previous scheme under its old rules.

The information announced so far points to several potential differences:

• Lower initial deposit: the expected minimum is 2.5%, compared with 5% under Help to Buy;
• First-time-buyer focus: the new programme is being presented specifically as support for first-time buyers;
• Income restrictions: household-income limits will apply;
• Local price caps: property-price limits are expected to vary by area;
• Targeting: the stated intention is to support people who could not otherwise afford their first home;
• Developer contributions: participating housebuilders will be expected to contribute towards the scheme’s costs; and
• Interest arrangements: an initial interest-free period has been promised, but its duration and subsequent charges have not been disclosed.

The final documents must clarify how eligibility will be tested, how the equity loan will be valued and repaid, which lenders and developers will participate and whether different conditions will apply in London.

Until those documents are published, comparisons with Help to Buy must remain provisional.

How would a 2.5% deposit work?

If the announced percentages are confirmed, a buyer would contribute at least 2.5% of the purchase price and could receive a government-backed equity loan worth up to 20%.

The remaining balance would normally need to be funded through a mortgage.

For example, on a £300,000 qualifying property:

• a 2.5% deposit would be £7,500;
• a 20% equity loan would be £60,000; and
• the remaining balance would be £232,500, equivalent to 77.5% of the purchase price.

This example is illustrative. It assumes the buyer receives the full 20% equity loan and does not include legal costs, mortgage fees, surveys, moving expenses, insurance or taxation.

A smaller deposit does not remove the need to qualify for the principal mortgage. A lender will still assess income, expenditure, existing debt, credit history, interest rates and the applicant’s ability to maintain monthly repayments.

The 2.5% deposit may solve one part of the affordability problem without solving every part.

Did Help to Buy increase housing supply?

This finding is central to the evaluation’s positive value-for-money conclusion.

The evaluation estimates that approximately 15% of new homes built in England during the life of Help to Buy resulted from the scheme.

Researchers compared housing markets on the English and Welsh sides of the border, where similar areas were subject to different Help to Buy arrangements.

The analysis found evidence that the number of new dwellings increased faster in English areas after Help to Buy was introduced. It also suggested that the scheme encouraged the completion of additional development sites rather than merely changing which individual homes buyers selected.

Developer interviews supported the argument that the scheme increased confidence, accelerated construction and encouraged more sites to be brought forward.

However, the report found that the strongest supply effect occurred during the post-financial-crisis recovery, when construction and high loan-to-value mortgage availability were more constrained.

It found little evidence that the 2021 revision or the scheme’s eventual closure had a substantial effect on total new housing supply. This suggests that market conditions and the availability of alternative mortgage products materially influence how effective equity-loan support can be.

How certain is the £25.1 billion valuation?

The £25.1 billion figure is a modelled estimate rather than an undisputed cash valuation.

Applying evidence from selected comparison areas across the whole of England requires assumptions about how much additional construction genuinely resulted from Help to Buy.

The evaluation acknowledges this through sensitivity testing.

Under more conservative scenarios, its estimate of net social benefits fell from £25.1 billion to between £2.3 billion and £4.1 billion. Those scenarios were still classified as providing medium or high value for money, but the range demonstrates how strongly the headline conclusion depends on the estimated housing-supply effect.

The report also describes £25.1 billion as a lower-bound estimate because it does not place a monetary value on every potential benefit, such as construction employment, life satisfaction or the environmental performance of newer homes.

The most balanced interpretation is therefore that the evaluation found strong evidence of positive value—but the precise value is sensitive to the assumptions used.

What happened to new-build prices?

Help to Buy was frequently criticised for potentially increasing property prices by adding purchasing power to the new-build market.

The evaluation concluded that the introduction of the scheme probably contributed to slightly higher prices, particularly in areas that were already less affordable.

It estimated that an equivalent new-build home carried an average premium of approximately 5% over a comparable second-hand property during the scheme.

A Help to Buy property carried an additional premium of approximately 1% compared with a similar new-build home purchased without the scheme.

The report found little evidence that Help to Buy caused an equivalent increase across the entire housing market. The more direct pricing effects appear to have been concentrated in qualifying new-build properties and particular local markets.

This is an important issue for Your First Home.

Any demand-side scheme risks increasing prices if the additional purchasing power is not accompanied by genuinely additional housing supply. Local price caps, income limits and developer contributions may reduce that risk, but their effectiveness will depend on the final design.

Does the announcement prove that the Help to Buy evaluation caused Your First Home?

The close timing makes the two developments politically connected, but it does not prove that the evaluation alone caused the new policy.

Housing affordability, deposit requirements and weakness within parts of the new-build market were already active policy concerns.

The government’s official announcement states that Your First Home is intended both to reduce the deposit barrier for first-time buyers and to provide stimulus to a new-build market facing rising construction costs and wider economic pressures.

The Help to Buy evaluation nevertheless provides an important evidence base for the new scheme.

It supports the argument that equity loans can increase housing supply and help some people buy earlier than they otherwise could. It also highlights the need to control deadweight, new-build price effects and the long-term financial consequences for participating buyers.

What would Your First Home need to address?

The former scheme’s evaluation identifies several issues that the new programme will need to confront.

Targeting support

More than half of surveyed Help to Buy customers said they could have purchased without the scheme.

Your First Home will therefore need a credible method of directing support towards buyers who genuinely cannot overcome the deposit barrier without assistance.

Income limits alone may not achieve this. Household savings, gifted deposits, local property prices, family circumstances and mortgage affordability can all affect whether someone could buy without an equity loan.

New-build pricing

Buyers should not assume a property represents good value merely because it qualifies for government assistance.

Eligible purchasers will still need to compare the asking price with similar new-build and second-hand homes, examine incentives and consider the likely resale market.

Understanding the equity loan

The reduced deposit is the most immediately attractive feature, but it is only one part of the agreement.

Buyers will need clear information explaining:

• the equity percentage owned by the government;
• how the repayment amount changes with the property’s value;
• the length of the interest-free period;
• the interest and management charges applying afterwards;
• when repayment becomes compulsory;
• whether partial repayment is permitted;
• the valuation process; and
• the effect on remortgaging, alterations and selling.

Generating additional supply

The strongest economic case for Help to Buy depended on its estimated effect on housing supply.

If Your First Home mainly changes how existing new-build stock is allocated without causing additional construction, its wider social value could be considerably lower.

The scheme must therefore operate alongside planning, infrastructure, development finance, construction capacity and land-supply policies.

What could Your First Home mean for the UK property market?

The most immediate effects are likely to be concentrated in the eligible new-build sector.

If the scheme attracts substantial demand, participating developers could experience stronger reservation rates and greater confidence in starting or accelerating future phases.

This could affect:

• sales rates for qualifying new homes;
• developer cash flow and project viability;
• construction activity;
• development-finance demand;
• land values; and
• pricing within eligible local markets.

The effects will not necessarily extend equally across the wider housing market.

Older homes, luxury property, buy-to-let investments and homes above the local price caps may receive little direct benefit.

Borrowing conditions will remain crucial. Access to a smaller deposit does not protect a buyer from higher mortgage rates or guarantee that their income supports the required loan.

What does the announcement mean for property investors?

Your First Home is intended to support first-time owner-occupiers purchasing new-build homes. It is not being presented as a buy-to-let or property-investment scheme.

Investors should therefore treat its relevance as indirect.

The scheme could affect development pipelines, new-build sales rates, land demand and the confidence of housebuilders and lenders. It could also increase competition within particular lower and middle price bands.

Those effects will depend on:

• the number of equity loans funded;
• the local price caps;
• the household-income limits;
• developer and lender participation;
• the implementation timetable;
• mortgage affordability; and
• whether additional buyer demand produces additional housing supply.

The announcement should not be interpreted as evidence that every new-build property will rise in value or that development investments will automatically perform more strongly.

Purchase price, financing, construction risk, local demand, taxation, service charges, management arrangements and the eventual exit remain property-specific considerations.

What should international investors watch?

International investors should not assume they will qualify for Your First Home.

The scheme is intended to help first-time buyers acquire homes to occupy. The government has not yet published the final residence, nationality or immigration requirements, but the programme is not being promoted as support for overseas investors purchasing UK rental property.

Its relevance to international investors will therefore be primarily through its possible effect on:

• developer confidence;
• construction volumes;
• development-land demand;
• sales rates for eligible new homes; and
• pricing in affected areas.

International buyers should assess UK opportunities according to their own legal, tax and investment position rather than assuming that a first-time-buyer policy improves the fundamentals of every property or development.

How is Your First Home different from other buyer schemes?

Your First Home should not be confused with the existing First Homes scheme.

First Homes provides selected properties to eligible purchasers at a discount of at least 30% from market value. That discount remains attached when the property is resold to another qualifying buyer.

Your First Home is an equity-loan proposal. The buyer is expected to purchase with a small deposit, a principal mortgage and a government financial interest that must eventually be repaid.

It is also different from the permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme.

Under the mortgage-guarantee structure, the government protects the lender against part of its potential loss on an eligible high loan-to-value mortgage. It does not take an equity percentage in the purchaser’s home.

Each structure produces different costs, obligations and risks. None should be assessed purely by the size of the initial deposit.

What happens next?

The next decisive date is the Budget on 28 October 2026.

The government has said that the Chancellor will announce further details covering the scheme’s cost and implementation timetable.

The Budget documents or subsequent guidance will also need to establish:

• the household-income limits;
• the local property-price caps;
• the application and eligibility process;
• the definition of a first-time buyer;
• the length of the interest-free period;
• the charges applying afterwards;
• the equity-loan repayment rules;
• the participating developers and lenders;
• the size of developer contributions;
• residence and occupancy conditions;
• consumer protections; and
• the date applications or registrations will open.

There is currently no live application process.

Prospective buyers should be cautious about making a non-refundable commitment based on assumed eligibility before the government publishes the final rules.

Final thoughts

The Help to Buy evaluation produced a powerful headline: £25.1 billion in estimated net social value and a conclusion of very high value for money.

The underlying evidence was more nuanced.

The former scheme helped hundreds of thousands of purchasers and appears to have supported additional construction. At the same time, more than half of surveyed customers said they could have bought without it, the price effects were not entirely benign and the estimated social value changes materially under different housing-supply assumptions.

When this article was first published, those findings had revived the debate over whether equity-loan support could return.

That debate has now moved into a new phase.

Your First Home has been announced and is expected to combine a 2.5% buyer deposit with a government-backed equity loan of up to 20% for eligible first-time buyers purchasing qualifying new-build homes in England.

The remaining question is no longer simply whether a successor will be proposed. It is whether the final design will target support effectively, protect buyers, generate additional housing and deliver sufficient public value to justify its cost.

The Budget on 28 October 2026 should provide the information needed to begin answering that question.

This article is provided for general information and market commentary only. It does not constitute financial, mortgage, investment, property, legal or tax advice or a recommendation to purchase any property, use any government scheme or participate in any investment. FJP Investment acts solely as an introducer and does not provide advice, assess suitability, arrange mortgages, conduct due diligence on a reader’s behalf, manage investments or hold client money. Property values and income can fall as well as rise. Mortgage and equity-loan obligations must be repaid, and purchasers or investors could lose some or all of their initial capital. Appropriate independent professional advice should be obtained where required.