I'm a first home buyer, what help can I get?
First Home Buyers
The first step towards owning your own home is exciting and overwhelming. It's natural you'll have plenty of questions - that's where we can help. Your local Mortgage Choice broker can take the stress out of the process of your first home loan with expert advice and support.
Get your questions answered

The home buying process
Step by step guide to what's involved in buying your first home, including the home loan process.

First home owner grant
The First Home Owner Grant is a lump sum of cash available to first home owners to help with the cost of buying a first home. Find out more and see if you are eligible.

2020 First Home Loan Deposit Scheme
The new government scheme for first time buyers allows approved applicants to take out a mortgage with just a 5% deposit and avoid paying lenders mortgage insurance.

HomeBuilder program: $25k cash grant
Kickstart your 'dream' home with a $25K cash grant under the federal government’s newly announced HomeBuilder program.

Your local broker can organise a home loan pre-approval now to help you move quickly when you’ve found “the one”.
How a broker can help first home buyers

Explain the costs & process
Your broker can explain all the costs and steps involved in buying a home and give you a realistic picture of what you can borrow.

Help you get pre-approval
If you haven’t yet found the right home, your broker could help to organise pre-approval so you can shop for your new home with confidence, knowing exactly what you can afford.

Apply for incentives
In Australia, there are a number of government incentives available to first home buyers. We’ll let you know whether you’re eligible for assistance schemes such as the First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) and help with the paperwork.

Support you all the way to your first home
When you’re ready to move ahead with your first home loan, your broker will prepare all the paperwork and support you at every step to settlement.
Is now a good time for first home buyers? With Joel Gibson
If you're looking at getting into the property market, it's important to check that you're ready.
Hear from Joel Gibson as he answers all the common questions for first home buyers to make sure you're ready for your first home and if now is the right time to enter the property market.
More videos and tips
How much deposit do I need to save?
Do I need home loan pre-approval?
What grants and schemes are available for first home buyers? With Joel Gibson
Help me work out... 
How much can I borrow?
My home loan repayments
My stamp duty on the property
1. About meus
and I'mwe're financially supporting
dependant(s).
I amWe are looking for a
home loan.
Plus, I'mwe're financially supporting
* dependants.
2. Income and Expenses
IWe earn a total of
* per month
after tax,
and have total
monthly expenses of
$0
3. Your Affordability
Your Monthly Position
- Home Loan Repayment
- Total Expenses
- Remaining
You may be able to borrow between
Talk to a Mortgage Choice broker today to get a loan pre-approval so that you can house hunt with confidence.
Unfortunately it doesn't look like you can borrow for a home loan. Please check that you've entered your details correctly.
If you need help to get your finances on track, check out our Financial Planning advice.
Your borrowing power estimate:
Income:
Expenses:
You may be able to borrow up to:
Interest Rate:
I want to borrow
over
at an interest of
Your interest only monthly repayment
Full monthly repayment thereafter
Your monthly repayment will be:
repayments:
charged:
Repayment options:
Options I want:
We've updated the results with the lowest rate from our lender panel based on your selected options.
There's a lot to consider when choosing the right loan. Our brokers can help with expert advice at no cost to you.

First home buyer's guide
Purchasing your first property can be an overwhelming process and there may be steps you are unsure or unaware aware of. This guide will walk you through all of the steps involved in the buying process.
Download guide
Simply enter your details to download the eguide.
By entering your details, you are opting in to receive future communications from Mortgage Choice, from which you can unsubscribe at any time.
Hear from our customers
Andrew Ross, Melbourne, VIC
First home buyerI’d definitely recommend Mortgage Choice. If I had known it would be this easy to arrange a home loan and buy a place of my own I would have done it years ago!
Ashleigh Dodds, Melbourne, VIC
First home buyerThe help our broker provided was amazing. I don’t know how many times we asked the same questions but he never made us feel like any questions were silly. He even took the time to explain our home loan to our parents. I have already recommended Mortgage Choice to my friends - I am just so happy with the way things turned out for us.
Gabriel Sciannimanica,
First home buyerPrior to booking my first appointment with Mortgage Choice I knew entirely nothing about home loans and the housing market. My broker provided me with the knowledge, expertise and guidance to feel comfortable enough to take the plunge and buy my first home. I am very happy with the package that I ended up choosing and would return to Mortgage Choice again.
James Paul,
First home buyerAt the age of 29, with a $50,000 deposit and a six figure income, my bank was unable to give me a loan. After meeting with my Mortgage Choice broker, she clearly and effectively communicated my options and the process of purchasing my first home. Within 48 hours I had been pre-approved to almost double the amount approved by my bank.
Joanne Grady, North Lakes, QLD
First home buyerI asked my broker thousands of questions, and she never made me feel like I was an imposition or that I was asking a stupid question – and that’s not something I could say about every service provider I encountered as a first home buyer. With the right help and support, buying a first home doesn’t have to be hard. My broker was lovely to deal with and she made the whole process so much easier for me.
Portia Jonasi, Perth, WA
First home buyerOur broker did more than help us find a competitively priced loan. She was really interested in providing personal solutions and she provided good advice, explaining all the things we needed to consider as first home buyers. Mortgage Choice made it very easy to buy our block of land. The hard part is waiting for our first home to be built so we can begin living in it – that’s a day I’m really looking forward to!
Sarah Nayton,
First home buyerI purchased my first home and to say it was a daunting experience is an understatement. It was a very confusing time. I have said to my friends multiple times that I don’t know how I would have actually navigated through it all without the support of my Mortgage Choice broker. She made everything clear and her customer service and knowledge of the industry was exceptional.
First home buyer FAQs
The amount you can borrow, commonly known as your borrowing capacity or borrowing power will be determined based on your unique set of financial circumstances. Your income, assets, liabilities and credit history can all affect your borrowing power. How much money you can borrow will also differ from lender to lender.
Our home loan calculator will give you an initial idea of how much you can borrow. Your local Mortgage Choice broker can give you a complete individual assessment of your situation.
Mortgage Choice brokers can help you find which of the hundreds of home loans offered by our panel of lenders will best suit your needs. Consider the questions in Choosing the Right Home Loan to see which loan features are likely to be most important to you.
The deposit required depends largely on the type of home loan and, of course, the lender you select. As a general rule, if you are an owner-occupier you’ll require 5-10% of the purchase price as a deposit. If you are an investor, you’ll ideally require 10% of the purchase price, although it's possible to purchase with less.
Mortgage Choice has a savings calculator you can use to help you determine the amount you need to save each month and how long it will take to reach your desired deposit.
The First Home Owner Grant scheme is a one-off payment which varies by state or territory (from $7,000 up to $26,000) to assist eligible first home owners with purchase or construction costs. Find out if you are eligible for the grant.
Stamp duty is a state government tax based on a property's selling price. Each state or territory has different rules and calculations; some states offer discounts or exemptions to first home buyers. Stamp duty can be a significant additional cost when buying property.
Use our stamp duty calculator to get an idea of what you will need to pay.