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From Saturday 1 October, thousands of regional Australians will be helped into their first home through the Albanese Government’s Regional First ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Buyer Guarantee – three months earlier than promised.

The delivery of this election commitment will mean 10,000 places will be available each financial year through the Regional First ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Buyer Guarantee to support regional first home buyers to purchase new or existing homes with a deposit of as little as five per cent.

The Regional First ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Buyer Guarantee will provide a government guarantee of up to 15 per cent for eligible first home buyers, so regional Australians with a 5 per cent deposit can avoid paying mortgage insurance.

To be eligible for a Regional First ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Buyer Guarantee, applicants must be Australian citizens, purchase outside a capital city, and demonstrate they have been living in the region in which they are purchasing the property (or adjacent regional area) for at least 12 months.

Property price caps and income caps will be consistent with the existing First ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Guarantee, administered by the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC).

The Regional First ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Buyer Guarantee is part of the Albanese Government’s ambitious housing reform agenda to support people into home ownership and improve the supply and quality of social and affordable housing, which includes:

• Widening the remit of the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Housing Infrastructure Facility, making up to $575 million available to invest in social and affordable housing;
• A $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund which will build 30,000 new social and affordable housing properties in its first five years;
• A ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Housing Supply and Affordability Council to increase housing supply and improve affordability;
• A ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Housing and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾lessness Plan to set and deliver short, medium and long term goals to improve housing outcomes across Australia; and
• The Help to Buy program, which will reduce the cost of buying a home by up to 40 per cent for 10,000 Australians a year.

Comments attributed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:

“The previous Liberal ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Government left serious housing challenges – we’re getting on with the job of improving housing outcomes for Australians.

“We have brought this support forward to help thousands of people living in regional Australia purchase their own home.

“This is part of our ambitious housing agenda to support more people to purchase their own home as well as investing in social and affordable housing.”

Comments attributed to Housing Minister Julie Collins:

“Australians living in regional areas have faced some of the largest drops in housing affordability, making it increasingly hard for locals to save a sufficient deposit.

“The Regional First ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Buyer Guarantee will help aspiring first homebuyers living in regional Australia realise home ownership sooner by overcoming the deposit hurdle.

“This targeted assistance is an important part of our ambitious plan to tackle the housing challenges we inherited.”