This is how much the Government will help first time buyers borrow in Sheffield - and there's a surprise
These are the price caps for Sheffield and its neighbouring areas, when it comes to Government help to buy scheme
Officials have revealed how much money it will be prepared to lend new buyers towards their first homes, under a new scheme to help people own their first house.
And the figures show that would-be home owners in Sheffield will be offered less than those in Rotherham, despite Sheffield’s higher housing prices.
Under the figures revealed today, the cap for homes to be bought under the Your First Home scheme Sheffield, has been set at £260,000. According to the Office for National Statistics, the average house price in the city was £218,000 in August 2026. The average price paid by first-time buyers was £192,000
But in Rotherham, the cap has been set at £285,000 - even though the average house price in Rotherham was only £191,000, and the average price paid by first-time buyers was £171,000.
The scheme aims to give thousands of households in England a helping hand to take their first step on to the housing ladder - but it has to be newbuild homes.
The caps in Sheffield and its surrounding area:
Barnsley: £245,000
Bassetlaw: £245,000
Chesterfield: £255,000
Doncaster: £240,000
High Peak: £285,000
North East Derbyshire: £285,000
Rotherham: £285,000
Sheffield: £260,000
It means that the cap is higher in villages on the edge of the city like Eckington, in North East Derbyshire, Aston, in Rotherham, or Bamford, in High Peak.
Eligible buyers will be able to buy a new-build home using a deposit of at least 2.5 per cent of the purchase price, a repayment mortgage from a participating lender and a Government equity loan worth 20 per cent of the purchase price, interest-free for five years.
The scheme is expected to open for applications in February, with the first sales in April.
Buyers will normally need to be a first-time buyer, within the relevant local price cap, use the property as their main home and have a total annual household income of £110,000
They must also be able to obtain a mortgage from a participating lender which will carry out affordability checks.
Aneisha Beveridge, Connells group research director, said: “The level at which the caps have been set should give would-be first-time buyers access to a choice of both flats and smaller houses in most areas, ensuring healthy take-up of the scheme.
“While larger houses mostly sit above the price caps, this isn’t unreasonable for a scheme designed to support first-time buyers.
“In the short term, these figures show what existing stock can likely be sold using Your First Home, but longer term, the caps will start to shape what homes housebuilders decide to deliver.
“The new price caps may also help breathe life back into the flat market, by encouraging more first-time buyers to consider apartments in order to benefit from the interest-free equity loan.”
Officials say property price caps are being applied in each area to ensure the scheme supports access to modest homes, recognising that markets vary across England, according to the gov.uk website.