Victoria’s State Revenue Office has announced a Homebuyer Fund that enables eligible homebuyers to now receive a contribution of up to 25% towards the purchase price of their property, reducing their minimum required deposit to 5% and avoiding the need to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance.
For eligible Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander homebuyers, this contribution is up to 35% and the minimum required deposit is 3.5%.
The Homebuyer Fund is a shared equity scheme, meaning that the financial contribution from the Victorian Homebuyer Fund to the purchase price is made in exchange for a proportional interest (a share) in the property. Participants can repay the Homebuyer Fund’s interest in their property over time, including through refinancing, using savings, and must do so when the property is sold and in other circumstances.
Eligibility:
To be eligible to participate in the Homebuyer Fund, you need to:
- Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and be at least 18 years of age at settlement.
- Have saved the required minimum deposit (at least 5% or 3.5% depending on your circumstances) of your property price.
- Earn $125,000 or less per annum for individuals, or $200,000 or less per annum for joint applicants. This refers to your gross annual income.
- Occupy the purchased property as your principal place of residence.
- Be a natural person (that is, not an organisation, company, trust or other body or entity).
- Not purchase your property from a vendor who is a related person.
- Not own an interest in any land at the time of purchase (including as trustee of a trust or beneficiary under a trust).
- Not be acting as trustee of a trust.
- Not be a shareholder in any corporation (other than a public company) that owns any land.
Eligible participants for the Homebuyer Fund need to meet all of the above eligibility requirements and if subsequent assessments by the State and a participating lender are approved, must become registered owners of the property they buy.
The property you purchase must be in Metropolitan Melbourne, Geelong or another eligible regional location. For the full list of regional locations please read the eligible locations page.
This tool can help you check if you could be eligible for the Victorian Homebuyer Fund. It provides general guidance in line with the eligibility criteria and does not constitute a determination of eligibility.
Grant amount:
A contribution of up to 25% towards the purchase price of your property.
What you need to know before you apply:
The $500 million Homebuyer Fund will help up to 3000 households own their own homes.
How to apply:
You should first check if you may be eligible. If you meet the eligibility criteria from the tool, you will receive an email explaining the next steps.
More information on how to apply can be found here.
FAQ:
https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/frequently-asked-questions-about-homebuyer-fund
For more information on the Homebuyer Fund please contact your local William Buck advisor.
