Login
Competition to intensify as Help to Buy scheme launches
40,000 Aussies are set to enter the property market with the government-backed Help to Buy scheme, making first home ownership more achievable.
Australian citizens across the country can now apply for the new Help to Buy initiative, a shared equity scheme designed to help make home ownership more achievable for thousands of eligible households.
Under the landmark scheme, the government will help home buyers by covering up to 40 per cent of new-home prices and 30 per cent of existing-home prices, lowering the deposit requirements to 2 per cent.
The scheme aims to assist up to 40,000 households in the next four years, with 10,000 places available each year.
To be eligible for Help to Buy, applicants must be at least 18, Australian citizens, earn no more than $100,000 individually or $160,000 as a joint applicant or single parent, and provide a minimum 2 per cent deposit.
Applicants must intend to live in the property as their principal place of residence and cannot already own property in Australia or overseas, with limited exceptions for some single parents.
Additionally, under the Help to Buy scheme, applicants cannot receive support from other government shared-equity, loan, or guarantee schemes, although stamp duty concessions and grants remain available.
Bank Australia and the Commonwealth Bank have signed on as participating lenders, with two more lenders to join the panel in 2026.
Participants will also have the option to buy back the government’s equity share, including over time, through voluntary repayments.
Under the scheme, buyers will be able to purchase a new or existing home, including houses, townhouses, apartments, units, or duplexes, a vacant block or property being rebuilt.
Price caps for the scheme will vary by state and city.
In Sydney and NSW regional centres, the cap will be $1.3 million, while the rest of the state will be capped at $800,000.
Buyers in Victoria will be allowed to purchase properties up to $950,000 in Melbourne and regional centres, and $650,000 in other areas.
Queensland will see Brisbane and regional centres capped at $1 million, with a drop to $700,000 elsewhere.
In Western Australia, Perth and regional centres will be capped $850,000, and $600,000 for the rest of the state.
Buyers in South Australia will be able to purchase properties up to $900,000 in Adelaide and regional centres, and up to $500,000 elsewhere in the state.
Meanwhile, Tasmania capped Hobart and regional centres at $700,000, with $550,000 elsewhere.
The ACT will see a $1 million limit, while the Northern Territory capped buyers at $600,000.
