The federal government has announced it is reissuing the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) guarantees from the 2019/20 financial year originally allocated to buyers who have since been unable to complete the purchase of their home.
First home buyers will be able to apply for the newly-freed spots from the Scheme’s panel of lenders in the coming days; around 1,800 are expected to be made available.
The scheme was established to help first home buyers get into a home sooner, allowing for a deposit of as little as 5%. Since the scheme was launched a year ago, there has been an “extraordinary take up” of the guarantees, with more than 15,000 first home buyers having settled and moved into their home since 1 January 2020.
Following the onset of COVID-19 and the accompanying economic squeeze, the federal government announced the FHLDS would be extended through the release of an additional 10,000 spots, running until 30 June 2021, as part of the large-scale recovery plan to create jobs and rebuild the economy.
In just three months, over 4,200 first home buyers have already accessed the extended scheme to build or buy a new home.
Recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data has shown the many state and federal housing initiatives over recent months are accomplishing their goal, with first home buyers continuing to enter the market at the highest level since 2009 and the number of owner occupier first home buyer loan commitments rising 9.3% -- an increase of 56.6% from the same time last year.
Recent analysis from NAB has corroborated the trend, with the major's lending to first home buyers up by 21% against the group’s national 12-month average, and up 44% across regional areas.
