Login
iscover
According to the federal government, around 1,800 home loan deposit guarantees were left unused from the initial tranche of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) in 2019–20.
The Assistant Treasurer and the Minister for Housing, Michael Sukkar, released a statement that explained the unused guarantees were a result of first home buyers who have since been unable to complete the purchase of their first home.
According to the minister, “this represents a great opportunity for around 1,800 buyers to now enter the property market sooner”.
“First home buyers will be able to apply for these guarantees from the scheme’s lending panel lenders in the coming days,” he outlined.
Since the program was first commenced, in the 2019–20 financial year, Mr Sukkar said there had been an “extraordinary” take-up of guarantees by first home buyers.
“More than 15,000 first home buyers [have] already settled and moved into their home since 1 January 2020,” he said.
The minister cited the results of the program, iterating that “Australian Bureau of Statistics data from December showed first home buyers continued to enter the market at the highest level since 2009, with the number of owner-occupier first-home-buyer loan commitments rising [by] 9.3 per cent”.
It’s an increase of 56.6 per cent from the same time last year.
He also flagged movement in lending figures, with recent analysis from NAB highlighting how the bank has increased lending to first home buyers by 21 per cent against their 12-month average.
The uptake of lending was especially strong in regional areas, which had recorded a 44 per cent increase in first-home-buyer activity nationwide.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
