The Mutual Bank is pleased to be one of a limited number of lenders able to offer the Australian Government’s Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG).
From Saturday 1 October 2022, 10,000 new places will be available for this new initiative under the Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS), helping thousands more Australians living in regional areas to enter the housing market sooner.
The RFHBG supports eligible first home buyers living in regional areas1 to purchase a modest home in a regional area [1] with a deposit of as little as five per cent.
To be eligible, home buyers (or at least one borrower when applying as a couple) must have lived in the regional area or adjacent regional area they are purchasing in, for the preceding 12-month period to the date they execute their home loan agreement.
Australian Defence Force members may be eligible for a partial exemption. Other eligibility and lender’s criteria, as well as HGS property price caps, apply.
The introduction of the RFHBG increases the total number of HGS places this financial year to 50,000. Home buyers who are not eligible for the RFHBG may be eligible for the First Home Guarantee (FHBG) or the Family Home Guarantee (FHG).
Home buyers should discuss their individual circumstances with our Banking Managers – phone 1300 688 825 for more information or submit an enquiry online and we will get in touch.
Regional home buyers can access detailed information about the RFHBG on the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) website from 1 October 2022.
Interested regional first home buyers will be able to check eligibility, search the areas they are able to purchase in, as well as the applicable property price caps.
An Information Guide and Fact Sheet will also be available on the NHFIC website.
[1] 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.
