How to save a first home deposit in just over a year

It’s taking young couples roughly five years on average to save for a 20% home loan deposit, according to new research. Want to hear something crazy, though? We know how to quarter that timeframe…

Real talk: it’s never been tougher to save up a deposit for your first home.

In Sydney the average timeframe is 8+ years. In Melbourne 6.5 years. And most other places across the country, 4 to 6 years. 

That is unless you happen to know a finance professional who can help first home buyers purchase a home with just a 5% deposit – and not pay any lender’s mortgage insurance in the process.

And how do we do that?

Well, if you’re eligible, we can hook you up with the First Home Guarantee (FHG) scheme – which will release 35,000 places from July 1 (more on this below).

By getting in early on this scheme and reserving a spot, you can quarter the amount of time it takes you to save up for your first home deposit.

Below you’ll see how long it’s currently taking first home buyers across the country to save for a 20% home loan deposit (according to Domain data), compared to saving just 5%.

Sydney: 8 years 1 month (20%), down to 2 years (5%).
Melbourne: 6 years 6 months (20%), down to 1 year 7 months (5%).
Brisbane: 4 years 10 months (20%), down to 1 year 3 months (5%).
Adelaide: 4 years 7 months (20%), down to 1 year 2 months (5%).
Perth: 3 years 7 months (20%), down to 11 months (5%).
Hobart: 5 years 10 months (20%), down to 1 year 5 months (5%).
Darwin: 4 years 3 months (20%), down to 1 year (5%).
Canberra: 7 years 1 month (20%), down to 1 year 9 months (5%).
Combined capital cities: 5 years 8 months (20%), down to 1 year 5 months (5%).
Combined regionals: 3 years 10 months (20%), down to 11 months (5%).
Australia-wide: 4 years 5 months (20%), down to 1 year 1 month (5%).

So if you’ve been saving towards a 20% for at least a year, you could be ready to hit the ground running when the 35,000 FHG schemes become available July 1.

Tell me more about the First Home Guarantee scheme!

Ok, so the First Home Guarantee scheme (previously the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme) allows eligible first home buyers to build or purchase a home with only a 5% deposit, without forking out for lenders’ mortgage insurance (LMI).

This is because the federal government guarantees (to a participating lender) up to 15% of the value of the property purchased.

Not paying LMI can save buyers anywhere between $4,000 and $35,000, depending on the property price and deposit amount (it’s also worth noting that property price caps apply).

But places in this scheme are on a first-come, first-served basis.

So don’t let the recent expansion to 35,000 spots lull you into a sense of complacency.

They’ll go fairly quickly, which means if you’re interested you’ll want to get in touch with us asap to ensure you’re ready to lodge the application come July 1.

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