<p><span>The government has launched the first properties under its First Homes scheme, offering a market discount of at least 30% for local first time buyers and key workers.</span></p><p><span>From today (June 4) the first phase of an early delivery project in Bolsover, East Midlands, will offer the homes, which the government said would remain below market value in perpetuity, “benefitting local communities, key workers, and families for generations to come”. </span></p><p><span>In the upcoming weeks, further First Homes sites will launch, with a further 1,500 of these properties entering the market from the autumn. The government intends to deliver “at least” 10,000 First Homes a year in the coming years “and more if there is demand”. </span></p><p><span>It also said that high street lenders Halifax and Nationwide Building Society, as well as local building societies and community lenders, would be offering high loan-to-value mortgages against the First Homes scheme.</span></p><p><span>Local authorities will be able to prioritise who accesses First Homes, with key workers “such as nurses and teachers” favoured. </span></p><p><span>The government has also launched its Own Your Home website, highlighting the various routes to home ownership for first time buyers, including First Homes, Help to Buy, the mortgage guarantee scheme and shared ownership.</span></p><p><span>First Homes …