First Home Buyers & Incentives

There is a lot of assistance available to first home buyers from Governments. It is worth spending some time to carefully investigate the rebates and assistance available to you.

First Home Owner Grant

The WA Government’s First Home Owner Grant currently offers $10,000 to first home owners who purchase or build a new home, the grant is no longer available to established home purchases. The grant is not a loan, and it doesn’t need to be repaid. Home buyers can use their grant to cover the deposit and loan fees in WA, provided they meet the criteria

This grant is capped to properties with a total value, including the land of $750,000 or less. If the home is located north of the 26th parallel, the cap increases to $1,000,000 or less. For more information click here.

Home Buyers Assistance Account

This account provides a grant of up to $2000 for the incidental expenses of first home buyers when they purchase an established or partially built home through a licensed real estate agent for the purchase price of $400,000 or less. The grant can be used for mortgage registration fees, solicitor and/or conveyancing fees, valuation fees, inspection fees, establishment fees, mortgage insurance premiums and lending institution fees associated with lodging the application. For more information click here.

Stamp duty reductions or exemptions

When a home buyer is eligible for the First Home Owner Grant, a concessional rate of transfer duty may apply. Properties under $430,000 are completely exempt, and a reduced rate applies for properties of up to $530,000 for house and land. If land only is bought, first home owners are totally exempt for land purchased up to $300,000, and a reduced rate applies for land purchased for between $300,000 and $400,000. For more information click here.

KeyStart Home Loan

The KeyStart Home Loan is a low deposit loan for homes under $480,000. Home buyers may be eligible if they have an income under $75,000 a year, or if they are a couple with a combined income under $95 000 or families with an annual income not more than $115,000. For more information click here.

SharedStart Home Loan

With a fixed SharedStart loan, you receive finance from Keystart to purchase a percentage of the property from the Department of Housing. The Department will retain its share, up to 30%, in the property permanently and you can at any time sell your share of the property back to the Department. For more information click here

GoodStart Loan

This loan is available for current Department of Housing tenants, which is another shared ownership arrangement. For more information click here.

Other Support

There is other financial support available through the Department of Housing, such as Disability Home Loans for people with disabilities, and Aboriginal Home Loans. See keystart.com.au for more information.

Even if you can access any of these government savings and grants, you must still carefully budget to see if you can afford your new home on your income, while allowing for unexpected expenses.

First home buyers should take advantage of all the opportunities out there to get assistance to buy or build their new homes, and take care to read the fine print to budget carefully for the largest single investment generally made in a lifetime.