iscover 
Tasmania has become the final state to open up the federal government’s shared‑equity Help to Buy program, after the scheme went live on Tuesday (9 June) for property purchases in Tasmania. As such, Help to Buy Scheme is now available across all states and territories, offering up to 10,000 places a year across the country.
It aims to help first home buyers get into the property market sooner by reducing the amount of money needed to purchase a property by sharing the cost with the government.
Under the scheme, eligible Tasmanian buyers can secure a property with a deposit as low as 2 per cent without paying lenders mortgage insurance (LMI).
Instead, the Commonwealth government will inject a federal equity contribution of up to 40 per cent for new homes and up to 30 per cent for existing properties, taking a second-ranking equity stake that buyers can progressively buy back or repay upon the sale of the asset.
To qualify, Tasmania will enforce property price caps of $700,000 in Hobart and $550,000 elsewhere in the state.
To be eligible for the Help to Buy Scheme, applicants must be Australian citizens who are at least 18 years old and have a maximum annual taxable income from the previous financial year at or below $100,000 for singles or $160,000 for joint applicants and single parents.
Applicants cannot currently own any property in Australia or overseas, though an exception is available for single parents who intend to sell their existing ownership or buy out a joint owner’s share.
Furthermore, the purchased property must be used as the buyer’s principal place of residence, strictly ruling out investment properties.
While participants are permitted to utilise standard stamp duty concessions and grants, they are restricted from receiving assistance from other state or territory shared equity schemes, loans, or guarantees.
Speaking of Tasmania entering the scheme, a spokesperson for Housing Australia (which administers the scheme) said: “The inclusion of Tasmania marks an important milestone, with the Australian Government Help to Buy Scheme now available across all states and territories. This expansion provides greater access and flexibility for eligible home buyers nationwide.
“Housing Australia welcomes this development and looks forward to supporting more Tasmanians on their path to home ownership.”
There are currently just two lenders offering mortgages through the Help to Buy Scheme – the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Bank Australia – however, only Bank Australia is making the scheme available through the broker channel.
It is expected that more lenders will join the Help to Buy Scheme panel in due course.
The rollout follows legislation introduced on 25 March by Tasmanian Housing and Planning Minister Kerry Vincent to enable the federal program to operate locally.
Speaking at the time, Minister Vincent said that the state delayed implementation to gather further information and protect its existing housing pipeline, pointing out that Tasmania’s own MyHome Share Equity Program was already “kicking goals” by assisting over 1,000 households into home ownership.
[Related: ‘Help to Buy’ bill passes through Senate]
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?Make Broker Daily a preferred news source on Google.