Surveyor Sorted

Your First Home Calculator

The 2.5% deposit scheme announced on 26 September 2026, in numbers. Enter a price and a rate to see your deposit, the equity loan, the mortgage and the monthly payment, what the loan charges from year six, and what it costs to repay as the value moves.

Surveyor SortedYour First Home calculator

High street five year fixes at 80% loan to value were about 5% on 29 September 2026.

Deposit 2.5%

£7,500

Equity loan 20%

£60,000

Mortgage 77.5%

£232,500

Monthly mortgage payment

£1,248

£232,500 at 5.00% over 30 years. Lenders usually cap borrowing at 4.5 times income, so about £51,667 of household income.

Equity loan, from year 6

£88.50 a month

Nothing for the first 5 years, then 1.75% a year on the £60,000 plus a £1 fee. Interest only, the loan itself is not reduced. Help to Buy terms, not yet confirmed for this scheme.

Repaying the loan: 20% of the value at the time, not the £60,000 borrowed

Value falls 10% (£270,000)£54,000 -£6,000
Value unchanged (£300,000)£60,000
Value rises 10% (£330,000)£66,000 +£6,000
Value rises 25% (£375,000)£75,000 +£15,000

The repayment figure is set by an independent RICS valuation at the time. Your own equity is the deposit, so a fall of 2.5% removes it.

How it is built

The three parts of a Your First Home purchase

The scheme follows the shape of Help to Buy. The price of a new build is met from three sources, and only one of them is yours from the start.

01

Your deposit, 2.5%

The cash you put in. On a £300,000 new build that is £7,500, half of what Help to Buy asked for. It is also the whole of your equity on day one, so it is the cushion against any fall in value.

02

The equity loan, 20%

Lent by the government against a share of the home rather than a fixed sum. Interest free for an initial period that has not been announced. Repaid as 20% of the value of the home when you sell, remortgage or choose to settle it, which needs an independent RICS valuation.

03

The mortgage, 77.5%

An ordinary capital and interest mortgage from a lender. Because the loan to value is 77.5% rather than 95%, more lenders will offer it and the rate is usually lower, which is where most of the monthly saving comes from.

As at 30 September 2026

What is confirmed and what waits for the Budget

The government has said the detail comes at the Budget on 28 October 2026. Until then the calculator uses the Help to Buy terms for the loan (five years interest free, then 1.75% a year plus a £1 monthly fee) and says so beside the figure.

First-time buyers, England, new build onlyConfirmed
Minimum deposit 2.5%Confirmed
Government equity loan of 20%Confirmed
Interest free at firstConfirmed, length not given
Household income capConfirmed, figure not given
Local property price capsConfirmed, figures not given
Housebuilders contribute to running costsConfirmed, amount not given
Interest after the free periodNot announced
Age limitNot confirmed either way
Start dateNot announced

Read the full breakdown, including what the Help to Buy years tell us and the London question, in our article on the Your First Home scheme.

Questions

Your First Home, answered

Buying a new build, or repaying an equity loan?

A Level 2 survey before you complete, or an independent RICS valuation for a Help to Buy redemption. Fixed fees, chartered surveyors, London and the South East.