First home buyers at Windermere masterplanned house and land community are set to receive a leg-up into their first home, courtesy of the newly-elected Federal government.
One of the major campaign promises from Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his Liberal Party was the establishment of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, targeted at helping first home buyers purchase a home faster.
Commencing in 2020, the Scheme allows buyers to access a loan offered by a participating financial institution, with up to 10,000 first home buyer loans available each year – ensuring first home buyers have better access to finance without having to save a 20% deposit.
The Scheme will be available to eligible first home buyers who have been able to save for a deposit of at least 5% up to 20%.
As such, eligible first home buyers will be able to purchase their own home years earlier, while they would also not be required to purchase lenders mortgage insurance – saving them approximately $10,000.
The news comes as the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) has called on the Morrison government to unlock housing credit by encouraging APRA to reduce the interest rate servicing benchmark rate that banks use to assess home loan applications.
The UDIA says the current assessment rate of 7% is unrealistic in the current interest rate environment, and by reducing borrowing capacities, thousands are being locked out of buying their first home, suggesting a benchmark rate of 5.5% would be more prudent.
