The Australian Government Help to Buy Scheme is now open for applications.
Eligible home buyers can apply through one of the Participating Lenders (Commonwealth Bank and Bank Australia, which are both on my panel).
The Australian Government Help to Buy Scheme is a new initiative designed to support more Australians to buy a home.
If you’ve saved what you can but are still a little short of being able to buy a home that meets your needs, Help to Buy may be able to bridge the gap.
Whether you’re a first-time buyer or someone returning to home ownership, Help to Buy offers support to secure a place to call home.
With 10,000 places available each year, Help to Buy is helping thousands of Australians make the step into home ownership.
How the Scheme works
Help to Buy is a shared equity Scheme where the Australian Government contributes towards the purchase price of your home.
Under Help to Buy you will need to:
• save a minimum 2% deposit
• obtain a home loan from a Participating Lender.
The Australian Government will:
• contribute up to 30% (existing homes) or 40% (newly built homes) toward the purchase price.
This will allow you to buy a home sooner by:
• bridging the gap between what you can borrow and the price of a home that suits your needs.
• helping your deposit go further, enabling you to buy sooner.
When you buy a home through Help to Buy, you will own the home but share some of the value with the Government.
As the Australian Government has contributed to purchasing the property, the Government will proportionally share any gains or losses made when you sell your home or when you buy out the Government’s equity share.
Eligibility
Who is eligible?
Home buyers need to meet eligibility criteria to qualify for Help to Buy. These include:
• minimum age – must be at least 18 years old
• deposit – minimum 2% of the home purchase price
• citizenship – must be Australian citizens
• single and joint applicants – you can apply to the Scheme either alone or together with one other person, provided you both meet the eligibility criteria
• income – must have an annual taxable income at or below $100,000 for individual applicants or $160,000 for single parents and joint applicants, as shown on the ATO Notice of Assessment (NOA) for the previous financial year
• owner-occupier – must live in the home as the principal place of residence whilst a part of the scheme (investment properties are not eligible)
• property ownership – cannot currently own any property in Australia or overseas. There are exceptions for single parents who own property jointly with someone else and want to buy out the other person’s share or intend to sell their existing ownership
• other Australian Government assistance – cannot receive help from other schemes, including shared equity schemes, loans or guarantees provided by States or Territories to support the purchase. However, you can still benefit from stamp duty concessions, grants and other exemptions.
Types of homes you can buy
Help to Buy supports you to buy a newly built or existing home in Australia at or below the property price cap (below) for the location.
You may use Help to Buy to purchase:
• a new or existing home, including house, townhouse, apartment, unit or duplex
• a vacant block of land for the construction of a new home or a property that’s being demolished and rebuilt, provided you’ve signed a comprehensive building contract with an eligible builder.
Please note Tasmania has yet to pass enabling legislation to participate in the Scheme.
Help to Buy is available in all other States and Territories.
Written by
Gillian Burns
Mortgage Broker
Milestone Lending, Canberra