Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG)
With as little as 5% deposit, eligible home buyers in regional areas** have the opportunity to purchase a regional property through the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG).
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Information for regional first home buyers.
What is the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG)?
The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG) is an Australian Government initiative to support eligible home buyers in regional areas** purchase their regional home sooner. It is administered by the Housing Australia under the Home Guarantee Scheme (Scheme) on behalf of the Australian Government.
Usually home buyers with less than a 20 per cent deposit need to pay lenders mortgage insurance. Under the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG), eligible home buyers in regional areas** can purchase a modest home in a regional area** with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent (lenders criteria apply). This is because Housing Australia guarantees to a participating lender up to 15 percent of the value of the property purchased that is financed by an eligible home buyer’s home loan.
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who is eligible to apply?
- Australian citizens or permanent residents who are at least 18 years of age.
- First home buyers (or at least one of the applicants, where applying as a couple) must provide satisfactory evidence that they have lived in the regional area** (ASGS SA4 2016) or an adjacent regional area** for the preceding 12 month period (assessed from the home loan agreement date). Employees who have been required to relocate for work may be exempt from this requirement.
- Single applicants with a taxable income of up to $125,000 per annum for the previous financial year and couples with a taxable income of up to $200,000 per annum for the previous financial year, as shown on the Notice of Assessment (issued by the Australian Taxation Office). For all RFHBG applications made from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, the relevant financial year assessed will be 2022-23.
- Individual or joint applicants may apply for the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee. Joint applicants may include partners, friends, siblings, and other family members.
- The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG) assists single (individual) applicants and joint (together) applicants who have at least 5 per cent of the value of an eligible property saved as a deposit. If 20 per cent or more is saved, then the home loan will not be covered by the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG).
- Loans under the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG) require scheduled repayments of the principal and interest of the loan for the full period of the agreement (with limited exceptions for interest only loans, which mainly relate to construction lending).
- To be eligible, home buyers applying for the RFHBG must have a minimum 5% deposit and can include first home buyers or previous home owners who haven’t owned a property in the ten years prior to the date they execute their home loan. They must have lived (or at least one applicant if applying as joint applicants) in the regional area or adjacent regional area they are purchasing in for the preceding 12-month period to the date they execute the home loan agreement.
- Applicants must intend to be owner-occupiers of the purchased property. Investment properties are not supported by the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG).
- Home buyers who are eligible for the RFHBG are not eligible for the FirstHome Guarantee.
- Home buyers who are not eligible for the RFHBG may be eligible for the First Home Guarantee or the Family Home Guarantee.
What property price thresholds apply?
For a property to be eligible it must be a ‘residential property’ – this term has a particular meaning under the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG) and participating lenders can assist if there is any doubt. Eligible residential properties include:
- an existing house, townhouse or apartment
- a house and land package
- land and a separate contract to build a home
- an off-the-plan apartment or townhouse
Specific dates and requirements apply for the different property types.
Use Housing Australia’s property price threshold tool to work out the maximum property purchase price in the area you’re interested in under the Guarantee.
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Find out moreImportant notes
All loan repayments must be made from the Everyday Transaction account. The $6 monthly account keeping fee is waived while the home loan is held. The Works Package Annual fee is payable yearly. Special rate offers are not available for construction loans. For our complete The Works Package conditions review The Works Package Conditions of Use.
*Comparison rates are calculated on a loan amount of $150,000 over a term of 25 years. WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Eligibility criteria, terms & conditions, fees & charges apply. Please refer to the Fees and Charges
**A regional area is defined as Statistical Area Level 4 (ASGS SA4 2016) areas in a State or the Northern Territory that are not a capital city of that State or Territory; and Norfolk Island; or the Territories of Jervis Bay, Christmas Island or Cocos (Keeling) Islands; as defined in the version published by The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in July 2016. The ACT and greater capital city areas of each State and the Northern Territory are excluded from the RFHBG. SA4s are based on population density and labour markets; they vary in size reflecting these criteria.
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