First home buyers can now get their foot in the door faster with the introduction of a new national incentive.
The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme kicked off on 1 January and allows eligible first home buyers on low and middle incomes to purchase a home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent.
An Australian Government initiative, the scheme will support up to 10,000 loans each financial year.
A maximum property purchase price of $450,000 applies for properties in the Port Macquarie-Hastings region, according to the scheme’s Property Price Threshold.
This means, eligible applicants need only save a deposit of $22,500* (based on a $450,000 purchase price) instead of the previously required 20 per cent needed to avoid Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) which protects the lender from financial loss if the borrower can’t afford to meet their home loan repayments.
The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation has developed a tool to help first home buyers learn if they meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria.
In Port Macquarie, the median house price in 2019 for a home was $557,500 and a unit $390,000 according to official PriceFinder data.
The Sovereign Hills master planned community’s Land Sales Manager Luke Moreta said interest from first home buyers continued to increase following the scheme’s introduction.
“We’re the home of Port Macquarie’s most affordable land and we’ve always been proud of the fact many locals could afford to build their first home in our community,” he said.
“This scheme will help more people who otherwise couldn’t afford to buy and build a new home… We look forward to working with more first home buyers and local builders to achieve this.”
Sovereign Hills will release more level land for sale early this year. For more information, contact the Land Sales Centre on (02) 6581 1711 or visit Sovereign Drive, Sovereign Hills.
To apply for the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, you can lodge your application through participating lenders and their authorised representatives. Learn more here.
*Disclaimer: The $450,000 5 per cent deposit of $22,500 does not take into consideration legal and banking fees.
