Housing minister Julie Collins
The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation will allocate 40,000 new places a year under an expanded Home Guarantee Scheme that kicked off on 1 July, and the government said it is pushing ahead with a new regional scheme that will offer 10,000 places.
The Home Guarantee Scheme is made up of the First Home Guarantee and the Family Home Guarantee. The number of places available through the First Home Guarantee increases from 10,000 a year to 35,000 a year until 30 June 2025.
Under the First Home Guarantee, an eligible first home buyer can purchase a property with a deposit of 5 per cent. To be eligible for the guarantee, individual income cannot exceed A$125,000 and a couple’s income cannot exceed $200,000.
The Family Home Guarantee will have an annual allocation of 5000 places a year until 30 June 2025. It supports single parents with at least one dependent child to buy a home, with a deposit of as little as 2 per cent.
The Minister for Housing Julie Collins said in a statement that the government was progressing its election promise to establish a new Regional First Home Buyer Support Scheme. She said details would be announced “shortly”.
The NHFIC said it expects to allocate 10,000 places this financial year under the Regional First Home Buyer Support Scheme.
Collins announced updated property price caps that apply from 1 July. They include an increase from A$800,000 to $900,000 in Sydney and New South Wales regional centres, an increase from $700,000 to $800,000 in Melbourne and Victorian regional centres, and an increase from $600,000 to $700,000 in Brisbane and Queensland regional centres.
Collins had previously announced additions to the scheme’s panel of lenders. Credit Union SA, Illawarra Credit Union, IMB Bank, Newcastle Permanent Building Society and Unity Bank joined the panel on 1 July.
They join an established panel of Commonwealth Bank, NAB and 25 smaller lenders.
The guaranteed amount is the difference between the borrower’s deposit (of 5 per cent or 2 per cent) and 20 per cent of the value of the eligible property.
Lenders may apply additional eligibility criteria, such as restrictions on certain suburbs and types of properties.