The Federal Budget 2021/22 had one goal “Keep the recovery going”.
It outlined several programs that target first home buyers, while also trying to attract empty nesters to downsize by extending access to a superannuation contribution scheme.
Downsizer scheme
The government is pushing to free up more homes for younger families by extending access to the downsizer scheme with reduced minimum age requirement from 65 to 60.
Older Aussies will be allowed to sell their home (if they owned the house for at least 10 years), where they can make a one-off, post-tax contribution to their superannuation of up to $300,000 per single person or $600,000 per couple.
First home buyers
New and upgraded policies aimed at helping first home buyer access the market sooner with a smaller deposit.
These included the Family Home Guarantee, which will allow single parents with a maximum annual income of $125,000 to purchase a home with a minimum deposit of 2 per cent.
This is capped at local market price, $700,000 for Sydney, $600,000 for Melbourne and $475,000 in Brisbane and the scheme is limited to 10,000 places.
Homebuilder extension
The HomeBuilder program will have the construction commencement period extended from six months to 18 months for all existing applications. This is a positive measure that will grow the new home construction channel that support jobs in the sector.
New Home Guarantee
This will provide additional 10,000 places in 2021-22. First home buyers seeking to build a new home or purchase a newly built home can do so with a 5% deposit
First Home Super Saver Scheme
From 1st July 2022, the maximum voluntary superannuation contributions that can be released will increase from $30,000 to $50,000. This will allow first home buyers to save a deposit faster through their superannuation.
