More lenders open FHLDS (New Home) applications

The FHLDS (New Homes), formerly called the FHLDS New Home Guarantee, was among the measures announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in the 2020-21 federal budget.

The extended scheme provides an additional 10,000 places and government guarantees for FHB loans on new homes and newly built homes.

Under the scheme, eligible first home buyers can purchase or build a new home with as little as 5 per cent deposit, without having to pay lender’s mortgage insurance. 

Eligible properties include:

• newly constructed dwellings (e.g. whether a freestanding house, townhouse or apartment)
• off-the-plan dwellings (e.g. whether a freestanding house, townhouse or apartment)
• house and land packages
• land and a separate contract to build a new home.

Similar to the original FHLDS, the New Homes tranche is means tested.

Teachers Mutual Bank Ltd (TMBL) and its subsidiaries (Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank and UniBank) has announced that it opened for FHLDS (New Homes) applications on Monday (9 November).

TMBL has said that it will not be accepting any applications for off-the-plan dwellings.

Auswide Bank has also now announced that it has begun accepting applications for the FHLDS (New Homes) scheme.

Effective from 9 November, applications can be submitted to Auswide Bank to reserve an FHLDS (New Home) scheme place. Once a reservation confirmation number has been generated from the bank, an application can be lodged.

Auswide has stated that while applications requiring full approval are being accepted for processing, final decisioning cannot be provided until a guarantee certificate is obtained from NHFIC.

Moreover, it added that applications for full approval for customers seeking to purchase land and build must be submitted with the contract of sale for the land being acquired and the fully executed fixed price building contract (which must not be dated prior to 7 October 2020).

Off-the-plan purchases are also not available through Auswide Bank.

These additional guarantees will be available until 30 June 2021.

According to Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar, almost 20,000 buyers have accessed the FHLDS to buy a home this year.

[Related: Applications open for FHLDS round 2]