Does the first home buyers grant still exist in Sydney?
A common question we are asked is - does the grant still exist – and the answer is technically yes, but also no. The grant itself is rare to receive these days but the good news is the other parts are more accessible.
First home buyers benefits in NSW are broken into 3 parts;
The Grant
A $10k grant from the government (in NSW, varies between states) and this one is what prospective first home buyers are usually thinking of when they refer to "the grant".
It is actually available however the restrictions mean that we see very few properties that qualify for it; you see it is only available for brand new properties under $600k or house and land packages to be built under $750k combined value - so very hard to find anything at that price point in the greater Sydney region.
Stamp duty concessions
Under the provisions of the NSW First Home Buyers Assistance scheme participants pay;
no stamp duty when purchasing a property with a value of up to $800,000
or discounted stamp duty for properties valued from $800,000 to $1m
Accurate at 27 February 2024 and subject to change
The good news is most of our first home buyers are utilizing this opportunity however, we are noting that even this price point is becoming challenging in Sydney
And the reduced deposit/No LMI scheme – Home Guarantee Scheme
This has qualifying criteria around your savings, property price caps and also income tests, and interestingly has provisions for regional buyers, those who haven't owned for more than 10 years and single parents with varying values.
This is a really valuable and popular scheme and a great way to get into your first home or re-enter the market.
An unofficial 4th option would be using parents as guarantors in a family pledge arrangement which isn’t strictly limited to first home buyers but does suit so many of them. Here a family member offers a limited guarantee over their home to support your loan and accelerate you into the property.
So the bottom line is while the grant itself is available it’s very difficult to qualify for but the other schemes are absolutely helping first home buyers in Sydney right now
