Your First Home scheme: Housebuilders named real winners

Who the Your First Home scheme is aimed at

Vistry, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Bellway all climbed in double digits during early trading, while Barratt Redrow surged 14%.

The scheme gives eligible buyers a 20% government equity loan towards a new-build home.

Burnham's scheme comes with an initial interest-free window and a deposit threshold as low as 2.5%.

Why housebuilders are the real winners

Financial experts told the press agency Newspage that developers look set to be the biggest beneficiaries. That reading follows the scale of this week's share-price jump.

Martin Rayner, a financial adviser at Compton Financial Services, called the scheme "good news" for first-time buyers.

The rally follows a familiar pattern in housing policy as government-backed demand schemes often lift builder shares faster than they lift buyer affordability.

Ministers hope the scheme still narrows a gap already visible in a council's plan to hike council tax by 94%.

The scheme targets buyers in England with a steady income who have struggled to save a deposit.

It also covers those with no family money behind them, a group ministers say has been locked out of ownership.

The same squeeze features in the worst places to live in the UK if you're young and unemployed.

However, there are limits attached. A household income cap will exclude higher earners.

Local property price caps will also restrict which homes qualify.