There’s never been a better time
There has never been a better time to build or buy a new home or complete a renovation thanks to State and Federal Government grants, which may save you up to $45,000, currently available. As of June 4, the Federal Government revealed the latest grant - the HomeBuilder Scheme.
The HomeBuilder Scheme will see $25,000 provided to new builds or renovations contracted between 4 June 2020 until the end of 2020.
To access HomeBuilder, you will need to be an owner-occupier and meet the following eligibility criteria:
• Be an Australian citizen aged 18 years or older and be an individual, not a company or trust.
• Be on an income of less than $200,000 for couples, and $125,000 for singles.
• Be spending between $150,000 and $750,000 on a renovation for a home that has been previously valued at less than $1.5 million.
• Be building a new home worth less than $750,000 (this includes land value).
• Enlist a licenced builder to complete the construction.
The State Government First Home Owner Grant is available if you buy a newly built home or if you choose to build a home from scratch. The grant is worth $20,000 if you buy/build a new home in regional Victoria.
Your first home can be a house, townhouse, apartment, or unit but it must be valued at $750,000 or less, and it must be a new home – being sold as a home for the first time, and less than five years old.
To be eligible for the First Home Owner Grant in Victoria, you’ll need to meet several conditions including:
• You or your spouse/partner must not have previously received a First Home Owner Grant in Australia.
• You must not have owned a home or other residential property in Australia, either jointly or separately, before 1 July 2000. However, you may still be eligible for the grant if you or your spouse/partner owned property on or after 1 July 2000 but did not live there as your home.
• You must occupy the home for at least 12 months within 12 months of settling on the property (this is when the keys are handed to you) or from when the home is fully built.
• You must be aged 18 or over and be an Australian citizen or permanent resident either by the time you settle or when the home is ready to be occupied.
In addition, first home owners in Victoria don’t pay stamp duty at all on their first home as long as the property is valued below $600,000. That’s a saving of around $31,000. You may still be eligible for savings on stamp duty if you pay between $600,000 and $750,000 for your first home. The good news is that these stamp duty savings are available to first home owners in Victoria no matter whether you buy an established or existing home rather than a newly built home.
Other incentives are available but your eligibility depends on your personal circumstances.