If you're thinking of making a new build your first home in London, it's time to start. From April 2027, Your First Home will help eligible first-time buyers into a new build with a 2.5% deposit. Only homes under the price caps can qualify, and buyers are already queuing for them: first-time buyer registrations with our New Homes team are up 145% since the scheme was announced. If the scheme isn't for you, there are other routes to get you on the ladder right now with Foxtons New Homes.
James Stevenson, Managing Director of Sales at Foxtons, on the London price caps
Read the video transcript
I think it's definitely going to change things for first-time buyers in London. I think the biggest barrier to entry that first-time buyers have to their own home ownership is the fact that the cost of living is such in London, because rents are so high, saving for a deposit is nigh on impossible. So the fact that we've had this two and a half percent incentive is really going to enable those buyers that have the salary but don't have the deposit to really boost their potential to buy.
Details for the Your First Home scheme are coming through, applications open in February and the first homes sell from April. I know April sounds like a long way away, but nobody's sitting on their hands till then, I promise you. Since the announcement, buyers have been calling our New Homes team to ask about the scheme, and when they do, we are starting to book viewings, because developers aren't waiting around either.
The reason people aren't waiting around is because they've done the maths. There are only so many homes in London under the price cap, which is £650,000 in Inner London and £500,000 in Outer London. Looking at our listings, there are some exceptional homes you can get in London that could qualify: in Battersea, in Hackney, in Camden, in Canary Wharf. But those homes will go fast. Government funding is also capped at £700 million in the first year, so it won't stretch to everyone. Your best bet is to get in early. Ring our New Homes team, tell us your commute, what you've saved and what you'd love from your first home, and we'll do the legwork for you. We've laid out all the details of the scheme on the Foxtons blog, the link's in the description.
The other thing first-time buyers should know: if you've been saving in a Lifetime ISA, but London prices felt out of reach of the £450,000 limit, you can now use your savings on a home above it and get back everything you put in. You lose the government bonus that way, but not your own money.
Your First Home: you can (and should) start now
Your First Home
2.5% minimum deposit
20% government equity loan, interest-free for 5 years
New-build homes in England only
Local price caps apply
Pre-registration opens by the end of December, with first sales from April 2027.
Your First Home is the government's new scheme to help first-time buyers into a new build with a smaller deposit and mortgage. Applications open in February 2027, with the first sales from April.
The government might be waiting until February, but nobody else is. Since the scheme was announced, first-time buyer registrations with our New Homes team are up 145%.1
In London, the scheme only covers homes up to £650,000 in Inner London and £500,000 in Outer London, and only from developers who sign up to it. Government funding is also capped at £700 million in the first year. That's a limited number of homes, and the buyers already queuing for them know it.
Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2015. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2015.
Which boroughs are Inner London and Outer London?
Inner London (£650,000 cap): City of London, Camden, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Westminster.
Outer London (£500,000 cap): Barking & Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton and Waltham Forest.
As defined in the London Plan 2021.
Developers can register for the scheme in February, but they're already working through the detail and on the phone to us. We should, very soon, be showing first-time buyers around. If you're not on the list, viewing these homes and making your move now, you'll be up against a lot more competition when the scheme goes live.
Two ways into a new build, and both start now
Whichever fits your plans, the first move is the same: talk to us.
Buy with a 2.5% deposit
Get on the list now, before the scheme opens. We'll introduce you to the developers we work closely with and line up your viewings.
Get on the listBuy the home you want, when you want
What's on offer varies by development, and not every incentive is advertised. We'll find the ones that fit your budget.
Find your incentivesNot sure which route is yours? That's exactly what we're here for. Talk to us and we'll work it out together.
Not waiting for April, or buying above the caps?
Maybe you want to move before April 2027, your London budget is above the price cap, or your household earns more than the scheme allows. There's already a way into a new build, and most first-time buyers don't know about it.
We surveyed 1,034 people across the UK who bought their first home in the last two years. Just 31% considered a new build, and 6% went on to buy one. Cost was the objection we heard most. Among the buyers who chose an existing home, 26% said new builds were too expensive or carried too much of a premium. Another 13% couldn't find a suitable new build where they wanted to live, and 12% thought an existing property would get them more space for their money.
Yet developers can offer financial and practical incentives on a new build, and most first-time buyers had no idea.
62%
didn't know developers could offer financial or practical incentives
53%
said incentives and extras would have made them more likely to consider a new build
Survey of 1,034 UK first-time buyers who bought in the last two years, conducted by ProperPR on behalf of Foxtons via FindOutNow on 8 September 2026.
Right now, before scheme demand arrives in April, developers are still competing for buyers. What's on offer varies by developer and by development, and not every incentive is advertised. You'll only find out what's available for your budget by talking to us, so do it now.
"First-time buyers clearly recognise many of the longer-term benefits of buying new, from improved energy efficiency to avoiding the immediate repair and renovation costs that can come with an older property. However, almost two-thirds of recent first-time buyers didn't know that developers can offer incentives to help reduce upfront costs as well."
Amit Masrani
Sales Director of New Homes at Foxtons
The new-build perks first-time buyers rate highest
Nobody saves for a first deposit hoping to spend year one replacing the boiler.
🛠️39% liked having no immediate renovation or repair costs. Everything you rely on day to day, from the boiler to the washing machine, arrives brand new with its warranty in place. Most new builds also come with a 10-year NHBC warranty, or similar.
🌡️22% wanted better energy efficiency. That's a home that heats right up when you want it to, without a sweeping increase in your bills now the cold weather's coming in. New builds are typically rated EPC A or B.
✨15% loved that everything would be brand new and unused. No quirks to the shower, no cracked freezer drawers. The oven's never seen a roast, and you'll be the first to load the washing machine.
If the running costs are what caught your eye, here's why so many first-time buyers prefer new-build homes.
How to find new-build homes
Start with us. 55% of Foxtons New Homes deals in 2026 have been with first-time buyers.2
And if you can't find the right new build where you want to live? 13% of the buyers we surveyed couldn't either, and that's where we widen the search. Two out of five Foxtons buyers purchase in an area they didn't initially consider,3 because our team shows homes across our entire network rather than one office patch.
Two moves give you the best possible start.
Set up My Foxtons. Tell us your goals and what you're searching for, with or without Your First Home, and we'll call you first about new homes that fit.
Talk to Alexander Hall. Our partner mortgage broker will help you work out your price range, so every home you view is one you can go for.
1. Foxtons New Homes data.
2. Foxtons New Homes data, January to September 2026.
3. Foxtons data for 2025.
Source: This article draws on the Foxtons New Homes team, who sell new-build homes for developers across London and well beyond, and work with first-time buyers every day. It reflects research Foxtons commissioned into how recent first-time buyers approached new builds, the team's own sales and registration data, and government guidance on the Your First Home scheme. If you have any questions on this article, email us to ask a Foxtons expert.
