More first home buyers get mortgage help

The federal government has doubled the number of openings for its popular First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.

When the scheme started in January, only 10,000 eligible first home buyers were able to participate each financial year. That has been increased to 20,000 for this financial year.

Under the scheme, the government acts as a guarantor for eligible first home buyers, allowing them to:

Take out a mortgage with just a 5% deposit
Skip the usual requirement to pay lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI)

The scheme includes 27 participating lenders who are now accepting applications.

To be eligible, you must earn no more than $125,000 for singles and $200,000 for couples.

Also, you must purchase a home under the price cap, which ranges from $250,000 in regional South Australia to $700,000 in Sydney.