Thousands of Aussies to get $800 million leg-up to buy a home

Friday, 21 March 2025 23:32

The federal government will expand the eligibility criteria for one of its signature housing policies under an $800 million investment to be included in next week's budget.

Housing Minister Clare O'Neil has announced more people will be able to access the Help To Buy scheme, under which the government takes an equity stake of up to 40 per cent in properties bought by low-income first-home buyers.

People with higher incomes will be now eligible for the scheme, and it will be available for properties that are worth more.

Houses aerial shot mortgage belt property interest rates suburb

The annual income threshold for access to the scheme has been raised from $90,000 to $100,000 for individuals, and from $120,000 to $160,000 for couples and single parents.

The maximum value of properties that can be purchased under the scheme has also been boosted.

"I've got a pretty straight-forward goal here – to make sure that ordinary, working-class Australians can buy a home of their own," O'Neil said.

"That's why we're expanding Help to Buy so that most first-home buyers are eligible."

In Sydney or regional centres in NSW, the new price cap for eligible properties will now sit at $1.3 million.

People in Melbourne and other Victorian cities can now get help to buy properties worth up to $950,000, the cap for Queensland properties in Brisbane or other regional centres has risen to $1 million.

However, the number of home buyers able to access the scheme has not increased, with the figure remaining capped at 10,000 a year over four years.

The government says the expanded eligibility will increase the value of the program by $800 million, up from $5.5 to $6.3 billion.

"We're tackling the housing crisis head-on by building more homes, using new technologies, and making it easier for Australians to buy them," O'Neil said.

The budget will also include a further $54 million into the prefabricated or modular home construction industry.

Almost $5 million of that will create a national certification process for offsite construction, which the government says will streamline approvals for pre-fabricated houses.

The remaining $49.3 million will go towards "supporting state and territory governments to supercharge prefabricated and modular home construction".

Industry Minister Ed Husic said the investment would help speed up home construction, while also creating jobs.

"We need to build more quality homes quickly - and help make great manufacturing jobs along the way," Husic said.

"Making a house in a factory instead of onsite can cut construction time in half."

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.