Most of those eligible for the latest First Home Loan Deposit Scheme from the federal government are single and older than 35. Of the first 3,000 applicants, new data from the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation show 25 percent are aged 35 or older; some are aged 40s and 50s.
And the large majority of applicants 60 percent are single. Many have earnings well under the thresholds, giving hope to those on lower incomes to purchase their first home. “The average income for applicants with pre-approvals is well below the threshold for both singles and couples, allowing those on a modest income to buy their first home,” says NHFIC’s chief executive officer Nathan Dal Bon.
Mr. Dal Bon said the additional 25 lenders had been selected from around the country and offered a range of choices to the first home buyers. “More places are now available to help first home buyers purchase a modest home sooner.”
The scheme helps qualifying first-time homebuyers on low and middle incomes to buy a property with as low as 5 percent deposit, acknowledging that saving a deposit can be difficult. Some Scheme lenders have committed First Home Loan Deposit Scheme web pages that provide additional details on how to apply, while first home buyers can apply through the mortgage broker as well.
The median taxable income to date is around $68,000 for singles and $108,000 for couples. This is far below the selection criteria which specifies that individual applicants cannot earn more than $125,000 in taxable income and that couples can not earn more than $200,000.
