Your first home with as little as 5% deposit
At Great Southern Bank we’re committed to helping more Australians buy their first home. This includes Australians living in regional areas who want to realise their dream of home ownership.
One of the ways we do this is through our involvement in the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, which is part of the Australian Government’s Home Guarantee Scheme.
What is the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee?
The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee is an Australian government initiative that provides eligible regional first home buyers with the opportunity to buy or build their first home in a regional area with as little as 5% deposit.
Traditionally, home buyers need to save a 20% deposit to avoid paying costly Lenders' Mortgage Insurance (LMI). And, for many regional Australians, this is one of the biggest barriers to getting onto the property ladder.
Buying a home in a regional area was once considered an affordable option. However, the recent increases in regional property prices, rent, and other living expenses has meant that many regional Australians are finding it takes longer to save a deposit, or that it might be out of reach.
This is where the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee can help. It reduces the amount of deposit you need without having to shell out for LMI.
Helping regional Australians step onto the property ladder
Under the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, your minimum savings goal drops to 5%. This is because the Australian Government acts as a guarantor for eligible loans, so you don’t have to fork out extra funds for LMI – even if your deposit is less than 20%.
With a reduced deposit and no LMI, you could take years off the time it takes to save a deposit. Your great Australian dream might be closer than you think!
Places are available now
From 1 July 2023, Housing Australia released 10,000 places under the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee.
We're on a mission to help more Australians own their own home.
Unsure if this scheme is right for you? Our Home Loan Specialists can help you out with this too.
- In the case of joint application, one applicant, has lived in a regional area for the preceding 12 month period and be buying a property in this area or an adjacent regional area.
- Be first home buyers, or haven’t owned a property in Australia in the past 10 years.
- Be aged 18 years and over.
- Be Australian citizens or Australian Permanent Residents and have a valid Medicare card.
- Have a taxable income of no more than $125,000 in the last financial year for singles or no more than $200,000 for joint applications (as shown on the Notice of Assessment issued by the Australian Taxation Office).
- Couples, friends, siblings and other family members are eligible for joint applications (maximum of two borrowers).
- Be buying an eligible property within the property price threshold for your area. You can view the property price cap for your suburb on the Housing Australia website.
Speak to one of our Home Loan Specialists via live online chat.
Fill out our online enquiry form and one of our Home Loan Specialists will get back to you to start the process.
Mon - Fri: 8:00am - 6:00pm (AEST)
Discover our other support schemes
Single parents and legal guardians with dependants could buy a family home with as little as 2% deposit.
You could buy a home with as little as 5% deposit and avoid paying Lenders' Mortgage Insurance.
Great Southern Bank, a business name of Credit Union Australia Ltd ABN 44 087 650 959, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 238317. Lending criteria, limits, conditions, and fees apply. Applications are subject to credit approval. Ask us for details. More information about the Home Guarantee Scheme (including the First Home Guarantee, Family Home Guarantee and Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee) and Housing Australia is available at www.housingaustralia.gov.au .
This is a one-off insurance payment which protects your mortgage lender if you default on the loan. LMI is commonly paid when borrowers have less than a 20% deposit.
The amount paid can vary depending on the lender, the loan amount and your deposit size. Most lenders let you to choose to pay LMI upfront or add this to your loan amount and include it in your repayments.