Westpac joins Home Guarantee Scheme

Westpac has joined the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation Home Guarantee Scheme.

By joining the scheme’s lender panel, Westpac now allows eligible customers with a deposit as little as 2% (Family Home Guarantee) or 5% (First Home Guarantee and Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee) to apply for a home loan without paying lenders mortgage insurance.

Chris de Bruin (pictured above), Westpac consumer and business chief executive, the big bank is delighted to be part of the Australian government initiative, which has already helped more than 100,000 Australians into homeownership since the scheme commenced over three years ago.

“Saving a 20% deposit is one of the many challenges people face when trying to get a foot on the property ladder, particularly for first-home buyers or single parents,” de Bruin said. “We are also pleased to be able to support friends and family members getting together to buy their home under the new changes to the scheme.”

Westpac is now offering the following guarantees to customers:

• First Home Guarantee – to support eligible home buyers to buy their home sooner, with a deposit as little as 5%
• Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee - to support eligible regional home buyers to buy a home sooner, in a regional area, with a deposit as little as 5%
• Family Home Guarantee – to support eligible single parents and eligible single legal guardians of at least one dependent to buy a home, with a deposit as little as 2%

The guarantees are initially offered to Westpac and RAMS customers and will be available across Westpac Group’s other banking brands later in the year.

Customers applying for Westpac home loans supported by the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee or Family Home Guarantee are also currently offered up to $2,000 cashback on Westpac home and contents insurance policies, underwritten Allianz. The offer is available for loans applied for until Sept. 30 and settled by Dec. 31.

All eligible applicants seeking to apply are encouraged to make an appointment online via the Westpac website, at a Westpac branch, with a Westpac lender, or their mortgage broker.

In NSW, homeowner hopefuls can also take advantage of the state government’s expanded First Home Buyer Assistance Scheme (FHBAS).

Under the refreshed scheme, the transfer duty exemption threshold for new and existing home purchases by eligible first home buyers had been increased from $650,000 to $800,000, and the concessional rate, from $800,000 to $1 million.

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