Up to $25,000 available for thousands of Aussies purchasing a home

Homebuyers could receive tens of thousands to put towards purchasing a home under this scheme but only a limited number of spots are on offer.

Aussie homebuyers are eligible for a $25,000 boost towards purchasing a property, but with limited places available, prospective homeowners must get in quick to access the government scheme.

The Australian Home Guarantee Scheme allows 50,000 people to purchase a property without needing a guarantee to help first-time homebuyers, single parents and people in regional areas purchase a home.

Within the scheme there are three programs; The First Home Guarantee, which will take 35,000 applicants in 2024-25, the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, which will take 10,000 people, and the Family Home Guarantee, which only accepts 5000 applicants.

Homebuyers could receive $25,000 to put towards purchasing a home. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

Mortgage Choice Blackwood broker Sam Neville said the program was a good option for Australians who didn’t have any family property to act as a guarantee and only had a 5 per cent deposit available.

“If you didn’t have the guarantor, you would either pay (about) $25,000 in lenders’ mortgage insurance, or you’d have to wait until you’d saved 20 per cent (deposit) plus fees to be able to avoid lenders’ mortgage insurance and access the cheaper rates,” Ms Neville told 7News.

Lenders mortgage insurance is a fee paid by the borrower that ensures a bank is protected against any loss if a person is unable to repay their loan.

But under the Australian Home Guarantee Scheme, the government is responsible for covering any costs of homebuyer defaults.

Strict eligibility criteria applies, with Australians only eligible for the scheme if they individually earn less than $125,000 or earn a maximum of $200,000 as a couple.

New research has found the housing market could remain unaffordable until at least 2031, with the average full-time weekly income of $1500 in NSW no longer enough to enter the housing market in Sydney.

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney and UNSW identified a “widespread affordability crisis” in Sydney specifically.

PropTrack data revealed national home prices lifted by 0.18 per cent to a new peak last month and are now sitting more than 6 per cent higher than what they were in June 2023.

Just 50,000 applicants will be successful in receiving the cash boost. Picture: NewsWire / Aaron Francis

In June 2024, the median house price in Melbourne reached $803,000, while in Brisbane median prices hit $840,000 following an annual price increase of more than 14 per cent.

Median home prices in Perth jumped by more than 22 per cent between June 2023 and June 2024, with the median price now sitting at $713,000.

As the cost of properties continue to rise across the country, Ms Neville said the caps outlined in the scheme are not keeping up with the market.

“(The cap is) just woefully too low, you’re looking at smaller and smaller properties or being pushed out further and further to be able to access the scheme,” she said.

For example, Ms Neville said while the median house price in Adelaide is $785,000, borrowers would be unable to purchase any property more than $600,000.

Additionally, eligibility criteria notes applicants must live in their newly purchased home while the government guarantee remains on the home.

Ms Neville encouraged future applicants to complete their tax return as soon possible to tick off one of the eligibility criteria and to visit a broker to increase the likelihood of succeeding in the application process.

Originally published as Up to $25,000 available for thousands of Aussies purchasing a home