Home Guarantee Scheme Changes

Major expansion to the Home Guarantee Scheme: How you can own your own home sooner. The Federal Government is expanding its Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS), with sweeping changes set to be a gamechanger for first home buyers looking to enter the property market

The HGS helps people with a small deposit saved buy a home sooner without taking out Lenders Mortgage Insurance. The Australian Government acts as a guarantor for a portion of the loan, “co-signing” it with the lender.

The Scheme can be applied to new home builds, house and land packages, or land with a separate building contract.

From 1 October, the HGS will expand with no quotas, no income limits and more homes to choose from, with property prices raised.

What’s changing?

• Unlimited places: no more annual quotas. Any eligible applicant can access the scheme. Previously spots were capped at 35,000 nationally. =

• No income caps: This opens access to all income levels. Income was previously capped at $125,000 for singles and $200,000 for couples. 

• Higher property price caps: How much you can spend is different in each state. We’ve included a state-by-state breakdown below.

• Unified scheme: the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee merges into the First Home Guarantee, simplifying access. 

Timing is everything with the Home Guarantee Scheme.

Our team is here to guide you with expert lending advice, including a free financial health check to help you get started. It's important to note that your eligibility is based on when you reserve a place through your lender, like our finance partners National Pacific Finance, not when your sales contract is signed.

If you reserve a place prior to 1 October, the old rules will apply. The new rules only come into play after that date.

This means even if you sign a contract after 1 October, if your place was reserved earlier, you're assessed under the older criteria, and vice versa.

How the Home Guarantee Scheme could benefit you

• No more waiting lists means faster access to home ownership.

• No income caps opens the scheme to more people.

• Higher caps reflect the real-life cost of building a home and acknowledge that cost has risen in recent years due to supply and labour.

Source: Housing Australia

We’re here to help guide you through the process, if you think the HGS could be for you get in contact with one of our New Home Consultants today on 13 28 72.