The deposit scheme specifically catered to single parents are also gaining traction.

Close to 23,000 new homes purchased through the federal government's deposit schemes are now housing around 33,000 Australians.

The latest report from the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) showed that since January 2020, 30,000 loans have been supported through the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) and the New Home Guarantee (NHG).

Both schemes help first-home buyers purchase a home with a deposit of as little as 5%. The NHG is only available for building a new home or purchasing a newly built home.

According to NHFIC, of the 30,000 places secured over the past two financial years, 22,879 homes have been purchased, in which at least 32,962 Australians are now residing.

Overall, around one in 10 first-home buyers have applied for either the FHLDS or NHG.

Younger first-home buyers — those who are under the age of 30 — made up 58% of all buyers under the scheme.

Interestingly, the scheme was able to help almost 300 people aged over 50 to break into the market.

Here are some other key trends on FHLDS and NHG over the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 financial years:

  • The government has guaranteed a total of $1.4bn in deposit shortfalls.
  • During the period, 37% of applications for the FHLDS and 25% for the NHG were for the purchase of homes in regional areas.
  • Around 6,000 key workers were supported by the two schemes. These included nurses, teachers, child carers, and emergency service workers.
  • Roughly 72% of the NHG and 52% (average for the two financial years) of the FHLDS guarantees originated from broker channels.

Interstate migration benefitting Qld, WA

Queensland and Western Australia both reported healthy take-ups of the schemes, particularly of the NHG.

Over the 2020-21 financial year, Queensland reported the second-highest share in the overall NHG guarantees issued at 27%, next to Victoria's 29%.

Western Australia also posted a significant share at 14%, taking the fourth place next to Sydney's 22%.

NHFIC CEO Nathan Dal Bon said Queensland reported the strongest demand for the two schemes relative to the share of population.

“The interstate migration to the regions is particularly noteworthy and reflects a trend we have seen since COVID-19,” Mr Dal Bon said.

“This is particularly pronounced in Queensland which has been the greatest benefactor of interstate migration.”

Share of guarantees for each state.

The NHFIC report also found that the two schemes have achieved a wide geographical coverage.

In fact, around 37% of all places under the FHLDS during the two financial years were for households moving to a new home located outside major cities.

Another key observation was how far away buyers moved to purchase their homes.

According to the report, buyers under the NHG moved 13km away on average from their current home, farther than the average distance of 8.4km for FHLDS recipients.

Demand from single-parent families

Separate figures from the office of Minister for Housing Michael Sukkar showed that 52,888 Australians have already purchased a home or reserved a place under the Home Guarantee Scheme since January 2020.

Aside from the FHLDS and NHG recipients over the past two financial years and secured places in the current year, this figure also includes applicants for the Family Home Guarantee (FHG), which enables single parents to purchase a home with as little as 2% deposit.

Since the start of the 2021-2022 financial year, around 1,023 single parents have already secured their places under the FHG.

Take note that the scheme only has 10,000 places stretched for the next four years.

"It is especially pleasing to see that of the places taken up by single parents under the scheme, 84% were single mums looking to provide the security of homeownership for their children," Mr Sukkar said.

Overall, there are 7,784 applicants for the FLHDS and 2,443 for NHG in the current financial year.

Mr Sukkar said this is an “incredible outcome” for the scheme.

“First homeowner numbers are at their highest levels in nearly 15 years,” he said.

“The Government’s Home Guarantee Scheme helps overcome the challenges of saving for a deposit and has played a huge part in opening up the housing market to even more Australians.”

Secured places for home guarantees for financial year 2021-2022.

Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash.

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