25 Sep Govt helping buyers enter the property market
First home buyers and single parents who may be finding it challenging to get on the housing ladder should take heart from a new report from Housing Australia.
About one in three first home buyers who purchased a property in the 2023-24 financial year used the federal government’s Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS), according to the report. Under the HGS, first home buyers – and people who haven’t owned a home for at least 10 years – can purchase a property with a 5% deposit without paying lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI).
More than 1,000 single parents and single legal guardians also took advantage of the scheme last financial year. The HGS supports single parents and guardians to purchase a property with a 2% deposit without paying LMI.
The HGS has a range of eligibility criteria, which includes:
- Buyer type: participants must be owner-occupiers.
- Income caps: no more than $125,000 for individual applicants and $200,000 for joint applicants.
- Property price caps: these vary from location to location (see table above).
Reach out if you’re interested in the HGS: I can tell you if you meet the eligibility criteria and manage your home loan application.