Bass Coast buyers turning to five per cent deposit scheme

Local first home buyers have been taking full advantage of the five per cent deposit scheme, with a local agent emphasising Wonthaggi’s more affordable homes and family ties bringing buyers to Inverloch.

However, whether those purchasers would otherwise still be saving for a deposit isn’t so clear.

Ray White Inverloch and Wonthaggi principal Fiona McMahon-Hughes said her agency had seen uptake across the municipality, with its relationship with mortgage broker Loan Market helping buyers access the five per cent scheme.

When asked if the scheme was allowing people to purchase who would otherwise still be saving, she simply said, “Look, probably not necessarily.”

She attributed some of the uptake to brokers helping buyers understand and access the assistance.

Her observations follow federal government figures released on October 1 showing 102,594 first home buyers had used the expanded scheme nationally over the past year.

That included 33,413 in Victoria, which was the most of any state, with New South Wales having the second most with 28,158 first home buyers.

The scheme allows eligible buyers to purchase with a deposit as low as five per cent without paying lenders mortgage insurance.

Buyers still need loan approval though.

Ms McMahon-Hughes said Wonthaggi offered more homes within an affordable range.

“It is right across the Bass Coast, but especially Wonthaggi, you do have a lot more homes that fall into the category of affordability.”

She said there was no single property type that was mostly attracting the first home buyers, and that it was “a real mixture.”

And in Inverloch, she’d noticed buyers using the scheme to establish themselves in a town where they already had some family connections.

“Probably what I saw was the uptake of those who used it in Inverloch used it because they had family connections here, so they were trying to buy into the town,” she said.

Ms McMahon-Hughes also described a broader market influenced by buyers moving into the area, including people selling in Melbourne before looking towards Bass Coast.