NSW Current Grants & Schemes eligibility (May 23’)

The NSW goverment has historically always supported first home buyers by offering incentives for people looking to get in to the property market via a purchase of their first home.

Recently thanks to the pandemic these incentives have been dramatically increased and NEW grants and offers are available making this potentially the best time possible for aspiring home owners to take the next step and invest in the market.

These grants and incentives are constantly changing & even for us agents in the field its very hard to keep track of what is being offered at any one time.
This post is to provide some helpful information and some links to the revenue NSW site which has the most accurate and up to date information available for buyers trying to navigate the market and work out what they are actually eligible for.

1. First Home Owners Grant - This is the initial and most basic incentive thats been offered for many years albeit it changing in amount from time to time.
   Currently the grant offers $10,000 for people buying their first home as long as their purchase meets the criteria CLICK HERE to visit the revenue NSW site where you can check your eligibility.
   Requirements : Building a NEW home worth no more than $750,000 or buying a “newly constructed” dwelling below $600,000 in NSW,
   

2. First Home Buyer Assistance Scheme - This is the the fairly newly created incentive that the government offers to avoid paying stamp duty as a first home buyer or receive a concession on the typical stamp duty amount CLICK HERE for a link to the revenue NSW site where the current eligibility terms are provided.
   Cutoff’s (established or new houses) : 0$ Stamp duty payable on property below $650,000, Discounted stamp duty on property between $650,000 - $800,000
   Cutoff’s (vacant land) : 0$ Stamp duty on land up to $350,000, Discounted stamp duty on land between $350,000 - $450,000
   

3. The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme - A NEW incentive first offered during the pandemic by NSW government to help boost the economy.
   Usually buyers purchasing property with a deposit less than 20% would need to pay “lenders mortgage insurance” (LMI) on top of the property price & stamp duty etc. & that LMI figure could be extremley costly to the buyer typically averaging around 20k.
   Via the “The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme” banks can offer a limited number of buyers the opportunity to take a loan out with them of 80% or more without having to pay LMI saving first home buyers tens of thousands of dollars and also significantly lowering the barrier of entry for those with limited finances - Basically you only need a 2-5% cash deposit as a FHB now without the LMI penalty.
   CLICK HERE to go to the National Housing Finance & Investment Corporation official website covering eligibility.
   

4. Australian Government “Super Saver” Scheme - Allows you to access up to a total of $50,000 contributions of your voluntary concessional (before-tax) and voluntary non-concessional (after-tax) contributions into your super fund to save for your first home.
   Basically you can apply at the point of sale to have up to 50k released from your super to buy a house, It incentivizes people to save via their super fund because its all TAX-FREE meaning you could save twice as fast almost for you first home if you really want to take it seriously !
   Limitations : Only up to $15,000 of super per year of super savings can be released with a cap of $50,000
   

THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE - Make sure you check the official revenue NSW website’s or consult with a good broker & conveyancer who can help navigate the many schemes and give professional advice on your property’s eligibility for these incentives, They change frequently and are hard to track.

Its also worth noting that while these grants and schemes are attractive and if utilized correctly may be extremely lucrative for first home buyers;
Trying to find a opportunity that will allow you to be eligible for all 4 of these government incentives is practically IMPOSSIBLE.

If you find a solid opportunity that qualifies for more than 1 of these incentives you done have really well !

“Time In the Market, Usually beats Timing the Market…”