First Home Buyer Savings Explained

First Home Buyer? We’ve never seen a better time to get into the market. Interest rates are historically low, and there has never been so much government assistance available.  In Victoria, you can get up to $35k (or $45k if you live in Geelong) or in Queensland up to $30k towards your home, when you combine the First Home Owners Grant with HomeBuilder. That’s a lot of FREE money! 

As an extra sweetener, they are also extending their First Home Loan Deposit Scheme meaning you can secure your home with a  5% deposit without paying a cent in Lenders Mortgage Insurance. That could be an extra $20k savings if you’re looking at a $550k loan.

Keep reading below to find out more about the current grants and incentives helping you into your first home. And just a note that this advice is general and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether the advice is suitable for you and your personal circumstances.

On June 4, the Government revealed their latest grant, the HomeBuilder Scheme. Recently they announced an extension to this program at a new rate of The $15,000 provided to new builds or renovations contracted before March 31st 2020.

To access HomeBuilder, you will need to be an owner-occupier and meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Be an Australian citizen aged 18 years or older and be an individual, not a company or trust.
• Be on an income of less than $200,000 for couples, and $125,000 for singles.
• Be spending between $150,000 and $750,000 on a renovation for a home that has been previously valued at less than $1.5 million.
• Be building a new home worth less than $850,000 (this includes land value). 
• Enlist a licenced builder to complete the construction

The historically low interest rates are great news for First Home Buyers.  Our finance partner MAB has rates as low as 1.89% fixed for 2 years (comparison rate 3.19%)*. Because lower interest rates means lower repayments, your borrowing capacity can be higher compared to a high interest environments. That means you could potentially be approved for a higher loan amount compared to what you would if there were higher interest rates.  While lenders will still work with a buffer just in case interest rates rise – interest rate rises aren’t likely to happen any time soon.

Learn more about our finance partner MAB, and speak to them today!

*1.89% fixed for 2 years (comparison rate 3.19%)*  is based on lowest market interest rate currently advertised and may be subject to change. This figure is a guide only and Porter Davis will not be held responsible for customer’s ability to obtain this rate. *WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Please speak to our MAB representative for details.