Leading housebuilders, mortgage lenders, and industry experts will on 19 November come together to discuss the government's Your First Home scheme and the wider challenges facing the new-build market at LSL Financial Services' New Homes Forum.
Taking place three weeks after the Autumn Budget, the Birmingham event will provide an opportunity to examine how the scheme, which aims to help first-time buyers purchase new-build properties with deposits as low as 2.5 per cent, will work in practice.
It also follows the publication of the scheme's local authority-level property price caps, more than 40 per cent of which are lower than the regional limits previously used under Help to Buy. Delegates are therefore likely to examine what these caps mean for the number of eligible new-build homes, as well as the scheme's overall ability to support first-time buyers.
Now in its eighth iteration, the forum will also explore the government's wider housing and planning agenda, the outlook for housebuilding, and what more can be done to improve affordability, increase supply, and stimulate demand across the market.
Delegates will hear from speakers including Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the Home Builders Federation; Alex Rose, commercial director at Zoopla; Oliver Jones, senior economist at Lloyds Banking Group; and Matt Grayson, group sales and customer experience director at Bellway.
Two panel discussions, chaired by Craig Hall, director of strategic partnerships at LSL FS, will also bring together representatives from the housebuilding and mortgage lending sectors, respectively, to address opportunities and challenges facing the market.
Craig Hall, director of strategic partnerships at LSL Financial Services, said: "Your First Home has the potential to provide a much-needed boost to the new-build market and help more first-time buyers onto the property ladder. However, the real test, as ever, will be how effectively the scheme works in practice.
"With the Autumn Budget behind us, the industry now has further clarity on the government's plans. But there remain important questions about lender participation and how far the scheme can go in encouraging developers to build more homes.
"Your First Home won't be all that is unpacked at the forum, though. We will also consider the wider challenges facing the housing market, which range from planning and supply to mortgage lending and affordability.
"As we know from seven successful previous events, bringing the industry together in this way gives us an excellent opportunity to explore these issues from different perspectives, share ideas, and discuss what more can be done to help people onto the housing ladder and to get more homes built."
For those wishing to register for a limited number of places still available at the LSL New Homes Forum, further information can be found here.
