Over 100 contractors and housing associations will share £180m to build homes for sale

The FirstBuy scheme, launched today by housing quango the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), will help build 10,500 homes in England over two years.

The scheme provides buyers with a loan worth 20%chlohouseshouse of the price of their home. The equity loan is jointly funded by the HCA and the housebuilder. The buyer repays the loan when they sell the home and the loan providers take a share of the rise or fall in the home’s value.

The scheme was announced in the Budget in March as a way of helping buyers struggling to raise a deposit and to increase the supply of new homes.

The successful bidders include regional builders, like Peveril Homes in the Midlands, and national names, such as Persimmon.

The first homes are expected to be on sale in September.

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