WELCOME HOME: FHLDS HELPS 1 IN 7 FIRST TIME BUYERS GET FOOT IN THE DOOR

November 3rd,2022

The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has welcomed the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation’s Trends and Insights Report on the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (the Scheme) released today (3 November 2022).

 

REIA President, Hayden Groves, said any measures to help achieve Australians achieve home ownership from all regions and all ages are welcome with growing headwinds of inflation and interest rate rises.

 

“The latest ABS figures show the number of new loan commitments to owner-occupier first home buyers fell 8.3 per cent in September 2022.

 

“We saw a record number of Australians achieve their first home ownership dream during the COVID-19 pandemic and have seen that ease off in recent times.

“Programs like the FHLDS will need to remain front and centre as interest rate rises and inflationary pressures create more challenges for first home buyers, and we welcome the support the Scheme provides now for a significant 1 in 7 Australian home buyers.

Mr Groves said the Scheme is doing its job despite both housing and rental affordability decreasing.

 

“Since May, repayments on a $500,000 mortgage have increased by almost $700 each month and household saving is forecast to slump below pre-pandemic levels,” he said.

 

“Nevertheless, the Scheme is doing its job. It is great that nearly 1400 recipients have transitioned out of the scheme into conventional loans and more than 40,000 Scheme recipients, are ahead of their repayments.

 

“Only fifteen guarantees were 60+ day in arrears which is less than 0.04% of all settled loans to date.”