The remaining 7,000 spots in the first batch of the government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) were made available at 9:00am on Saturday morning; within 48 hours, nearly 40% had been claimed.
The start of the working day on Monday saw 4,381 places still available, with 2,619 having been allocated over the weekend.
While the guaranteed loans through the scheme were only available through CBA and NAB over the month of January, the initiative has now been extended to include 25 non-major lenders as well.
In order to ensure the placements are spread among them, the maximum number of guaranteed loans able to be claimed by any one non-major at present is 1,000.
Managing director at participating lender Mortgageport, Glen Sprat said, "Mortgage brokers who are assisting customers with accessing scheme-backed loans will need to consider accreditation with a number of lenders because once a lender’s maximum allocation of places has been met, they will need to look elsewhere for alternatives."
Sprat confirmed Mortgageport has been able to secure a place for each aspiring first home buyer who has applied through the scheme thus far.
According to National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) CEO Nathan Dal Bon, the composition of the lending panel was driven by a desire to promote competition between big and small lenders, and ensure broad geographic reach, including regional and remote communities.
The data from the first month of operation suggested the strategy is working, with pre-approvals under the scheme having been distributed through every state and territory and divided among capital cities, large regional centres and regional areas.
Most participating lenders have put up dedicated FHLDS pages on their websites, providing further information on how to apply and helping guide consumers and mortgage brokers alike through the process.
The NHFIC has pledged at least 50% of the 10,000 guarantees allocated each financial year to the non-major lenders involved.
All lenders, both major and non, currently offering the guaranteed loans have committed to not charging eligible customers higher interest rates than equivalent customers outside of the scheme.
