PM offers grants to new buyers

Published: April 09, 2008

The government has set out plans to help first-time buyers onto the property ladder.

Gordon Brown unveiled plans which are designed to help people with first-time buyer mortgages.

The prime minister said that grants will be made available to first-time buyers and key workers.

As much as £1,500 will be provided to new buyers, while Mr Brown also pledged to build 30,000 new homes, many of them affordable, in order to secure the long-term supply of housing.

"We want to do more for people who may need an extra hand to buy their first home," said the prime minister.

"By offering new grants and sharing a stake in their home, we are making the dream of a new home more affordable for thousands of low-income first time buyers and key workers such as nurses and teachers," he added.

A total of £3million has been put aside for the first wave of grants and first-time buyers will be keen to get their hands on the money.