Home guarantee uptake surges in Qld

More first home buyers have been taking up home guarantee schemes, with some states doubling in proportion from last financial year, according to new data.

The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) has revealed which states are seeing high uptake for the government’s guarantee schemes.

The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS), New Home Guarantee (NHG) and Family Home Guarantee (FHG) are federal government initiatives brought in by the Morrison government to support eligible home buyers to purchase a home sooner. 

Collectively, these initiatives are referred to as the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (however, these initiatives were brought under the new Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) after the Albanese government came into power).

The government initiative supported one in seven of all first home buyers across Australia, an increase from one in 10 last financial year, the NHFIC report has shown.

According to the third annual First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) Trends & Insights Report, Queensland experienced the strongest demand for the scheme.

The Sunshine State had the highest concentration of government guarantees with around 29 per cent of all FHLDS and 37 per cent of all FHG guarantee recipients residing in Queensland. Guarantees supported one-fifth of new home buyers in the state last financial year.

While most states observed an increase in first home buyers partaking in these initiatives, Western Australia and Tasmania were the only two other states to have more than doubled in numbers. 

The Northern Territory saw the largest increase in proportion of loans, with around 14 per cent of first home buyers supported under the FHLDS or New Home Guarantee (NHG), more than four times that of 2020–21.

Similarly, Western Australia’s more than doubled from 7 per cent to more than 14 per cent.

Conversely, fewer people in NSW have been accessing guarantees. Since 2019–20, NSW’s share of guarantees has fallen from around 34 per cent to 26 per cent.

Qld

As well as having the largest proportion of total FHLDS commitments, Queensland had the highest distribution of guarantees issued compared with the population at 29 per cent. 

Around one-fifth of all home buyers were supported under a scheme. 

The state also had the highest distribution of FHG guarantees, with 37 per cent in the past financial year. 

For supported buyers in capital city regions, properties sold for an average of $443,000 with average deposits paid at $30,000.

For regional areas, the average property price sat at $367,000, with $24,000 as the average deposit paid in the state. 

The top locations in Queensland for home buyers were:

1. Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday
2. Toowoomba
3. Ipswich — Inner and Hinterland
4. Gold Coast, Logan ad Beaudesert
5. Townsville (Burdell-Mount Low)

NSW

After Queensland, NSW was the state with the highest distribution of guarantees at 26 per cent.

Twenty-nine per cent of FHLDS guarantees were for home buyers in NSW in 2021–22, the report showed.

A fifth of all NHGs were for buyers in NSW, with a similar proportion taking on the FHG.

The FHLDS supported 18 per cent of all eligible first home owners in the state in 2021–22, as opposed to 13 per cent the previous financial year.

The average property price for homes bought using a guarantee in NSW was $640,000 in the capital and $491,000 in the regions; with the average deposit paid being $45,000 and$32,000, respectively.

The top locations by number of guarantees in the state were the following:

1. Sydney — Outer South West (Campbelltown)
2. Sydney — Blacktown (Schofields)
3. Wagga Wagga
4. Tamworth — Gunnedah
5. Sydney — South West (Liverpool)

Victoria

Victoria had the third-highest distribution of guarantees at 23 per cent last financial year.  

When compared with population size, 24 per cent of FHLDS guarantees were distributed in Victoria and supported 12 per cent of the state’s 25 per cent population share in comparison to 8 per cent in 2020–21. 

The average property price for guarantee homes came to an average of $553,000 in the capital and $419,000 in rural areas; average deposits paid were $41,000 and $29,000, respectively.

The top locations by number of guarantees in Victoria were:

1. Melbourne — West (Tarneit-Truganina-Hoppers Crossing)
2. Melbourne — South East (Casey-Cranbourne)
3. Melbourne — North West (Craigieburn)
4. Melbourne — South East (Pakenham)
5. Melbourne — South East (Clyde)

WA

Fourteen per cent of the guarantees in 2021–22 went to home buyers in Western Australia.

Moreover, the proportion of home buyers supported by guarantees more than doubled in Western Australia in the last financial year at 13 per cent. 

Western Australia received 22 per cent of all NHG and 17 per cent of all FHG guarantees (compared with population). 

The average property price for home buyers last financial year was $398,000 in the capital city and $310,000 for regional areas. The average deposit paid was reported as $26,000 and $21,000, respectively. 

The top locations by number of guarantees were:

1. Perth — South East (Hilbert-Haynes-Armadale)
2. Perth — South West (Baldivis)
3. Perth — North East (Brabham-Henley Brook-Dayton)
4. Perth — North East (Ellenbrook-Aveley)
5. Perth — South West (Hammond Park-Beeliar-Treeby-Success)

SA

NHFIC found that 5 per cent of guarantees under a scheme were distributed to South Australia.

The proportion of South Australians under the scheme sat at 13 per cent in 2021–22.

For capital cities, the average property price under the FHLDS was $390,000, with an average deposit paid of $27,000. 

The average price for a regional home was more than $100,000 lower at $243,000 with an average deposit paid at $14,000.

The top locations for home buyers in the state were:

1. Adelaide — Central and Hills (Mount Barker)
2. Adelaide — North (Angle Vale)
3. Adelaide — North (Munno Para)
4. South Australia — South East (Mount Gambier)
5. Adelaide — North (Andrews Farm—Craigmore)

Tasmania

The report found that 1 per cent of guarantees were distributed to Tasmanian home buyers and 1 per cent by population.

Nine per cent of all Tassie first home owners were supported by first home buyer loan commitments in 2021–22,  the report found. 

The average property price under a guarantee sold for $432,000 in capital city regions and $341,000 in regional areas. 

The average deposit paid was $32,000 and $22,000, respectively. 

The most popular locations by number of guarantees in Tasmania were: 

1. West and North West (Acton) 
2. South East (New Norfolk)
3. West and North West (Devonport)
4. South East
5. Launceston and North East (Waverley—Summerhill)

ACT

The ACT took just 2 per cent of all scheme guarantees in Australia in addition to a 2 per cent population share.

The proportion of first home buyers who benefited from a scheme in the ACT remained at 8 per cent through 2021–22 and 2020–21. 

One per cent of FHLDS-supported home buyers were in the ACT last financial year. 

The top property locations by number of guarantees were:

1. Belconnen (Belconnen–Bruce) 
2. North Canberra (Dickson)
3. North Canberra (Braddon–Reid)
4. Gungahlin (Taylor–Franklin–Casey)
5. Molonglo

Northern Territory

NT had the largest increase in proportion of buyers supported by a scheme, with 14 per cent of first home owners compared to 3 per cent in 2020–21. 

However, the NT, alongside Tasmania and the ACT, had the smallest distribution of national FHLDS loans at 1 per cent, respectively.

The distribution of all HGS guarantees to the NT sat at 2 per cent in 2021–22. 

The average property price for FHLDS buyers was $396,000 with an average paid deposit of $24,000. 

[Related: Prudential treatment for Home Guarantee Scheme loans confirmed]