Grants and Benefits for First-Time Homebuyers in Perth

First-time homebuyer in Perth? We feel like we already know your life story. Getting priced-out at auctions week after week, making an offer on a home that was $10,000 out of reach, spending so much time on Realestate.com.au that your browser automatically launches there… did we get everything right?

We know that there’s never been a harder period of time for first-time homebuyers in Australian history. Houses are now 10 times the price of the average income, rather than 3.3 times the price of average income, as it was in 1984.

But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to secure your first home in Perth. By making the most of grants and benefits available for first-time homebuyers, this can significantly lighten the burden.

Let’s go through some of these grants and benefits available, outlined by the property-finding experts at Patrick Leo:

First Home Owner Grant (FHOG)

Free money? We won’t say no to that. According to the WA Government website, the first home owner grant (FHOG) is a one-off payment to encourage and assist first home buyers to buy or build a new residential property for use as their principal place of residence. The grant is $10,000 or the consideration paid to buy or build the house if less than that amount.

In other words, buy or build a new home, live in it, and get paid $10k. The catch, however, is that only one grant is payable per eligible transaction, so if you’re buying a home with your partner, you can only receive one grant.

If you want to check your eligibility for the grant, you can do this here.

First Home Owner Rate (FHOR)

Another benefit that all first-time homebuyers in Perth should be looking at is the First Home Owner Rate (FHOR). This is a duty concession which can be applied to certain transactions for first home owners.

The WA Government states that a person may be entitled to the FHOR if the unencumbered value of the land, or the land and home, under the transaction does not exceed the dutiable value thresholds ($530k for home and land, and $400k for vacant land).

For example, if the dutiable value on your home and land doesn’t exceed $430,000, then no duty is payable thanks to the FHOR. Pretty sweet, right?

There are other duty concessions available too, and can be read about here.

As experts in property buying, Patrick Leo advises first-home buyers to make sacrifices and save hard, take advantage of all benefits available and to seek the help of a professional property agency. Patrick Leo are specialists in buying property across Australia and can help you secure your very first property. We sit down with you, learning about your position and goals and start the hunt for your first property, using our network of researchers, negotiators, builders and contractors. Start the conversation with Patrick Leo and get into your first home sooner.