The new Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee Scheme has been welcomed by major banks.
Launching on October 1, the scheme will allocate up to 10,000 guarantees each financial year to June 30, 2025, to regional first-time buyers with a deposit of as little as 5%. It is designed to assist eligible first home buyers in regional Australia to help them into their first home sooner.
In order to qualify, applicants can apply as an individual or couple, must be Australian citizen(s) at the time of entering the loan, be at least 18 years of age, earning up to $125,000 for individuals or $200,000 for couples, intending to be owner-occupiers of the purchased property and be first home buyers who have not previously owned, or had an interest in a property in Australia.
“NAB has helped more than 15,000 first home buyers through the Home Guarantee Scheme, including 4,000 first home buyers in regional locations,” said NAB executive home ownership Andy Kerr (pictured above).
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Kerr said NAB had seen first-hand how the Government schemes helped thousands of Australians purchase a home earlier than they thought possible.
“We expect strong demand for places in the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee,” he said.
“Regional Australian locations definitely became popular at the start of the pandemic with people moving for a ‘green change’ and this scheme will be pivotal in making the move a permanent one for many.”
Kerr said NAB’s latest data showed that regional areas remained appealing for first home buyers.
“Locations like Sunbury in Victoria, Dapto in New South Wales or Bunbury in Western Australia continue to be hotspots for first home buyers,” he said. “We know that affordability has been a concern for many first home buyers. This scheme will be critical to providing more opportunities for buyers to enter the market in regional townships.”
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Commonwealth Bank’s executive general manager home buying Dr Michael Baumann said under the Government’s entire Home Guarantee Scheme, the Commonwealth Bank had helped thousands of Australians realise their property ownership ambitions sooner rather than later.
“We want to support buyers right across the country and the new Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee is another way we can help Australians navigate the current environment to secure their first home and invest in their future,” Baumann said. “Australia’s property landscape had evolved since the pandemic and Australians are reconsidering where they live and work.”
Baumann said as cost-of-living pressures also increased, some Australians were faced with the prospect of having to delay their homeownership ambitions.
“This announcement will come as a welcome relief to those regional first home buyers who have wanted to get their foot on the property ladder but haven’t previously been able to do so,” he said.
There are over 30 participating lenders offering the Home Guarantee Scheme to eligible homebuyers. These include Bendigo Bank, Beyond Bank Australia, Great Southern Bank, Newcastle Permanent Building Society, Queensland Country Bank and The Mutual Bank.
