Latest updates on the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme. The scheme is an Australian Government initiative to support eligible first home buyers purchase a home sooner.
The scheme will provide a guarantee to eligible first home buyers to purchase a home with as little as a 5% deposit.
Under the scheme, borrowers won’t be required to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance.
The scheme will support up to 10,000 loans each financial year, starting from 1 January 2020.
Who’s eligible for the scheme?
Applicants must meet eligibility criteria, including income thresholds and property prices.
The income thresholds are up to $125,000 per annum for singles and up to $200,000 per annum combined for couples.
The scheme will apply to owner-occupied loans on a principal and interest basis.
Applicants must also meet the individual lender’s loan assessment criteria.
Property price caps apply to the scheme. To be eligible for the scheme, the price of the property you purchase must be worth under a certain amount. Property price caps vary depending on location.
The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NLFIC) has a tool you can use to search property price thresholds via suburb or postcode.
How to apply
The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme launches on 1 January 2020.
NHFIC will not accept applications directly and isn’t able to provide personal financial advice.
You can lodge your application through me, your mortgage broker or participating lenders.
Although applications for the scheme won’t open until January 1, 2020, there is still an opportunity to begin preparing to apply for the scheme before it launches.
If you’re interested in the scheme, it’s a good idea to meet with a mortgage broker now. Your mortgage broker can help you create a plan, so you’re ready to apply for a home loan and the scheme once it launches.
Which lenders are participating in the scheme?
Not all banks and lenders will take part in the scheme.
National Australia Bank (NAB) and Commonwealth Bank (CBA) are the only major banks to offer loans under the scheme.
The rest of the lending panel is made up of non-major lenders.
CBA and NAB will accept applications for the scheme from 1 January 2020.
The non-majors will accept applications from 1 February 2020.
Here’s the full list of lenders on the panel:
- Australian Military Bank
- Auswide Bank
- Bank Australia
- Bank First
- Bank of us
- Bendigo Bank
- Beyond Bank Australia
- Commonwealth Bank
- Community First Credit Union
- CUA
- Defence Bank
- Gateway Bank
- G&C Mutual Bank
- Indigenous Business Australia
- Mortgageport
- MyState Bank
- National Australia Bank
- People’s Choice Credit Union
- Police Bank (including the Border Bank and Bank of Heritage Isle)
- P&N Bank
- QBANK
- Queensland Country Credit Union
- Regional Australia Bank
- Sydney Mutual Bank and Endeavour Mutual Bank (divisions of Australian Mutual Bank)
- Teachers Mutual Bank Ltd (including Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank and UniBank)
- The Mutual Bank
- WAW Credit Union
According to the NHFIC, members of the panel were chosen based on:
- Competitiveness of offerings
- Geographic reach
- Customer care
- Ability to meet the deadline for the implementation of the scheme
Additional lenders may be added to the panel periodically after the scheme launches.