How young Australians are buying their first home sooner

With a little bit of help, Australians under 30 are finding it increasingly easy to buy their first home.

With the trend towards regional relocation having lost its pandemic induced intensity, there is some sense in looking at the buying opportunities outside of Sydney, Newcastle, the Illawarra and Lake Macquarie.

And the recent Albanese government housing initiative, the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG) scheme is there to assist first timers.

The scheme only kicked off last October, with 10,000 loans available for low and middle income buyers earning up to $125,000 for individuals or $200,000 for couples.

Underpinned by government support, purchasers are permitted to spend up to $750,000.

The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation provided The Daily Telegraph with the latest figures showing nearly 5,000 places have been taken up nationally, of which close to 4,000 have a signed contract, or have settled their home and moved in.

The take up in NSW is around 1,300.

Isobella Perry, a 28-year-old beauty therapist along with her partner, miner Keenan Ellis, are among those with a 5 per cent deposit who have bought their first home. Picture: Supplied

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Those aged between 18 to 29 account for two-thirds of the RFHBG applications which must please the Housing Minister Julie Collins.

The RFHBG is part of the Australian Government’s Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) which has 32 participating lenders including major banks NAB and CBA. Westpac joins the scheme in July.

Isobella Perry, a 28-year-old beauty therapist along with her partner, miner Keenan Ellis, are among those with a 5 per cent deposit who have bought their first home.

They are among the 270 who have been supported by Great Southern Bank, who have issued RFHBG loans totalling $66 million.

Isobella and Keenan bought at Broken Hill.

“We hadn’t heard about the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee until we sat down with our mortgage broker who explained the scheme and how it might work for us,” Perry said.

Great Southern Bank’s chief customer officer Megan Keleher said the bank often see first home buyers looking to regional areas for more affordable housing options.

“We also know saving for a deposit remains a challenge for many first homebuyers, regardless of where they are looking to buy.”

From July the scheme will be available to any two eligible borrowers, beyond spouse or de facto partners, and to non-first home buyers, where they have not owned a property in Australia in the past 10 years.

The federal government has made 35,000 places available per year across the HGS with support for buyers with deposits of as little as five per cent, while the 5000 Family Home Guarantees allow single parents with dependants to purchase with as little as a two per cent deposit.

“The recent introduction of the RFHBG and the intended changes to scheme eligibility recognise there’s opportunity to reconsider the way we approach home ownership and encourage more aspiring homeowners, particularly long-term renters, to step into the property market,” Keleher said.

The scheme allows purchases of an existing house, townhouse or apartment, a house and land package, land and a separate contract to build a home, plus an off-the-plan apartment or townhouse.

Originally published as How young Australians are buying their first home sooner