First Home Buyer Loan Melbourne​

There are several schemes available to first home buyers in Victoria, including federal first home buyer schemes and Victorian government support. Eligibility criteria are outlined on government websites, or your specialist first home buyer mortgage broker can walk you through each possible option.

To qualify for schemes for first home buyers – including the Victorian stamp duty exemption, the $10,000 First Home Owner Grant, and federal low-deposit guarantees – all individuals listed on the property title must be genuine first home buyers. That is, they must not have ever owned or co-owned a residential property in Australia. If you buy with a partner who does not qualify, you cannot receive these concessions. Note: you must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and purchasing the property as your principal place of residence (PPR).

How much you can borrow will depend upon the maximum property purchase price (as laid out in your first home buyer loan scheme), the size of your deposit and your lender’s own criteria. As of January 2026, the cap for Melbourne properties is $950,000, and you may purchase with a deposit of 2–5%. Your mortgage broker can calculate maximum borrowing amounts for your individual situation.

The various first home buyer loan schemes allow buyers to purchase with a deposit of 2–5%, depending upon the scheme and your circumstances. Note that the more you contribute initially, the less interest you’ll be charged in the long run, so a higher deposit can be beneficial (as long as you also leave yourself a financial buffer).

The First Home Owner Grant provides a flat $10,000 payment to eligible buyers purchasing or building a brand-new residential home valued up to $750,000. The property cannot have previously been sold, occupied or rented out. To qualify, you must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, have never owned residential property in Australia, and commit to living in the home as your primary residence for at least 12 consecutive months.

There are a number of federal and Victorian first home buyer schemes available, including grants, first home buyer loans and shared equity schemes. Eligibility criteria can depend upon the size of your deposit, family or single parenting status, disability and defence force service. Your specialist first home buyer mortgage broker can help identify support that you can apply for.

In Victoria, first home buyers receive a 100% exemption and won’t have to pay stamp duty on new or established properties valued up to $600,000. From $600,000 to $750,000, the amount of stamp duty you pay gradually rises on a concessional sliding scale. There is also a stamp duty concession available for off-the-plan property purchases.

Home loan pre-approval is when a lender reviews your financial situation, including your income, expenses, savings, debts and credit history, and provides an indication of how much they may be willing to lend you. This gives you a clearer budget when searching for a property and making offers. Pre-approval is conditional and does not guarantee final loan approval.

To secure pre-approval, you’ll need to compile the following documents and submit them digitally.

• Income Proof: Your 2 most recent consecutive payslips plus your most recent ATO Notice of Assessment (NOA).
• Bank Statements: 3 to 6 consecutive months of statements for all transaction and savings accounts to demonstrate ‘genuine savings’ patterns and track living expenses.
• Liabilities: Your latest statements detailing any active credit cards, personal car financing, Buy-Now-Pay-Later account limits, overall HECS debt balance or any other debt.
• Identification: A valid Australian Passport or Birth Certificate, plus a current Driver’s License.

Submitting incomplete or incorrectly formatted documents can delay pre-approval. First home buyers can benefit from a mortgage broker reviewing all documentation, making sure everything is in order, and submitting it on their behalf.

If you are purchasing a home with a deposit of less than 20%, you will typically have to pay lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI). This is a one-off fee that covers the lender if you default on the loan. Under the First Home Guarantee, eligible buyers can buy with as little as a 5% deposit and pay no LMI, because the government guarantees part of the loan. Under state grants or stamp duty concessions, first home buyers will still have to pay LMI.

Mortgage loans for first-time home buyers come with different interest rate options, and how suitable they are for you will depend on your specific circumstances.

• Fixed-rate loans provide steady repayments and protection from rate rises, which can help with budgeting.
• Variable-rate loans offer flexibility, savings if interest rates drop, and features like extra repayments.

Your mortgage broker can model various options to help you decide what will suit you best.

To secure a Help to Buy scheme allocation, applicants must strictly satisfy the statutory criteria outlined on the federal firsthomebuyers.gov.au platform and apply via an approved, program-authorised panel lender:

• Regional Property Price Caps: The property’s final purchase price must be at or below $950,000 within metropolitan Melbourne and regional centres (such as Geelong). For all other locations across regional Victoria, the purchase price cap is capped at $650,000.
• Annual Taxable Income Limits: Your personal income must drop at or below $100,000 for individual applicants. For joint buyers and single parents, the combined annual taxable income limit is capped at $160,000, calculated strictly off your most recent ATO Notice of Assessment (NOA).
• Property Ownership Restraints: All applicants must be Australian citizens at least 18 years of age and must not currently own any real estate or land in Australia or overseas. However, the program accepts buyers who have previously owned a home in the past, provided they do not hold any active property interests at the time of application.
• Genuine Savings & Mortgage Terms: You must demonstrate a minimum saved deposit of 2% of the property’s valuation and maintain full capacity to service a principal-and-interest home loan for the remaining balance over a standard term with a registered panel lender.

Under the expanded federal 5% Deposit Scheme (formerly the Home Guarantee Scheme), the property price cap for metropolitan Melbourne and regional centres is $950,000. Because the government removed all maximum income thresholds and place limits, your maximum borrowing capacity is purely dictated by your personal income, living expenses, and current interest rate stress tests.

Administered by Housing Australia, the federal Help to Buy scheme is an official shared equity initiative where the Australian Government acts as an equity partner, contributing up to 40% for a new build or 30% for an established home. This federal program enables eligible participants listed on the official firsthomebuyers.gov.au portal to buy a home with a deposit as low as 2% while completely eliminating Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).

Under this scheme, the Commonwealth retains a contractual financial interest that moves in line with your property’s value. You can choose to make voluntary buy-back repayments over time in minimum 5% increments to build your equity, or settle the balance in full when the home is eventually sold.

While banks do not view a HECS/HELP balance as a traditional debt, your compulsory monthly indexation HECS/HELP repayments directly reduce your net take-home pay. Because lending algorithms calculate borrowing capacity based strictly on net monthly cash flow, this will reduce your maximum loan amount. A standard HECS repayment obligation can reduce a first home buyer’s maximum loan amount by $30,000 to $70,000.