Often, first home buyers will hear about the first home buyer grant first, before they’ve done any other research into what it takes to buy a home. While the prospect of securing financial assistance to get the keys to your first place may seem attractive, accessing it will form one part of what can sometimes be a complicated process.
Once you’re aware of what it takes to buy a home, you’ll be able to budget and set your expectations accordingly.
The first homeowner grant is financial assistance in the form of a one-off payment from your state or territory government, that can be accessed to help with the purchase of your first home.
The first homeowner grant scheme was introduced to offset the effect of the GST on home-ownership, and the amount you may be able to access differs from state to state, so making yourself aware of just how much you may be able to access will help you adjust your deposit savings budget.
Depending on the location, price and type of property you plan to buy as your first home, you may be able to access differing amounts.
In which Australian state or territory do you intend to buy your first home?
What kind of home will you be purchasing? New? Established? Are you building a new home?
What is the value of the property you’ll be purchasing?
A $10,000 First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) is available when you buy or build your first new home.
Your first new home can be a house, townhouse, apartment, unit or similar that is newly built, purchased off the plan or substantially renovated.
For more information, visit the NSW Government website.
The Queensland first home owners' grant provides first-time home buyers an extra bit of help to get into the market sooner. If eligible, you'll get $15,000 towards buying or building your new home. The Queensland grant covers new houses, units and townhouses—you can even buy off the plan or choose to build yourself.
For more information, visit the QLD Government website.
In NSW, eligible first home buyers no longer have to pay stamp duty on homes valued up to $650,000. For homes valued between $650,000 and $800,000 a concessional rate is applied. This could help you save as much as $26,857 when you buy your first home.
As a first home owner, you also won’t pay any stamp duty on vacant land worth up to $350,000, while land valued between $350,000 to $450,000 attracts a concessional rate.
For more information, visit the NSW Government website.
In Queensland, first home owners receive a concessional rate of stamp duty on homes worth up to $550,000. This concession is applied by deducting a set amount from the usual rate of stamp duty that would apply to owner/occupiers.
This means that you will effectively pay no stamp duty if you’re buying a first home worth less than $500,000, with a concessional rate applying to home valued between $500,000 and $550,000.
If you’re buying vacant land, you’ll also receive similar benefits, which mean that you’ll pay no stamp duty on land valued up to $250,000. A concessional rate applies to land valued between $250,000 and $400,000.
For more information, visit the QLD Government website.
To qualify as a first home buyer, you must be purchasing the first home you or your spouse have owned or co-owned in Australia, although there are some exceptions.
You must also move into the property within 12 months, and live there for at least six continuous months.
You must be:
To find out more, visit the NSW Govenment website.
In QLD
In addition, you’ll need to live in your first home for at least six months within a year of becoming the owner.
To find out more, visit the QLD Government website.
As a general rule, there are a number of things which can pose problems for first-time buyers, which include:
To famialiarise yourself with the home-buying journey, check out our piece on 5 questions every first-time buyer should answer.
As a buyer, once you have secured a home loan, and have agreed on terms and exchanged contracts with the seller, you will have to pay your full deposit amount.
Once you’ve got this info, complete your details below and we can help assess whether you may be eligible for the first home buyer grant in your state.
If you feel ready to kick-start the home buying journey, leave us some details via our enquiry form below, and an expert lender will be in touch to discuss how we can help.
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