The government is proposing a new scheme to offer a 30% discount on new-build homes for first-time buyers and key workers. The First Homes scheme will give first-time buyers and key workers a chance to buy a home in their local area for nearly a third less than the market price.

Key workers such nurses, police officers, firefighters and teachers, alongside armed forces veterans will be given priority in this proposed scheme. The scheme will also be opened to people in other professions too, however, details are still to be revealed by the government.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said: "I know that many who are seeking to buy their own home in their local areas have been forced out due to rising prices.

"A proportion of new homes will be made available at a 30% market discount rate - turning the dial on the dream of home ownership."

He further added that the 30% discount would be passed on when the property was sold in order to help future first-time buyers and key workers.

Details for the scheme and a launch date are still to be released.

Although first-time buyers were hitting a 12-year high in 2019, affordability and large deposit requirements are still preventing many people from joining the property ladder.

The current government is keen to build more than one million homes during its current leadership to improve affordability.

In turn the scheme will help buyers reduce the amount they pay for their homes and the deposit required to meet mortgage affordability stress tests.

The average new-build home costs £314,000, first-time buyers and key workers using the scheme will have to save £18,000 less, with the average 20% deposit of £94,000.

Although details on how the scheme will work are still unclear, the government has state that there will be a price cap of available properties, to ensure that the First Homes scheme is helping those who will most benefit from it.

Housing developers will pay for the discounts through contributions made during the planning stages, ensuring that new developments deliver benefits for the local communities.

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