First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) Explained

Of all the first home buyer schemes, this is the one people most often think they're getting and aren't.

The First Home Owner Grant is $10,000 in Victoria. It's real, it's still running, and there's one condition that rules out most of the buyers who ask me about it.

It's for new homes only

Not new to you. New, as in nobody has lived in it before.

That means a house and land package, a home built by a builder and never occupied, a substantially renovated property that qualifies as new, or an off the plan apartment or townhouse.

It does not mean an established three bedroom place in Werribee that happens to be your first purchase. If someone has lived in it, the grant isn't available, regardless of how first-time a buyer you are.

That single rule is why so many people are disappointed by it.

The other conditions

The property has to be valued at $750,000 or less, counting the land and the build together.

You need to be a first home owner, buying to live in it rather than rent it out, and you need to move in within twelve months of completion and stay for at least a year.

At least one applicant has to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and you need to be 18 or over.

Why it's often confused with the other schemes

The names do you no favours.

The First Home Owner Grant is state, Victorian, $10,000, new homes only.

The First Home Guarantee is federal, and it isn't money. It's a guarantee that lets you buy with a 5% deposit and pay no Lenders Mortgage Insurance. It applies to established homes too.

People hear "first home" and "grant" and assume they're the same thing. They aren't, and the guarantee is worth considerably more to most buyers than the grant is.

How you actually get it

You usually don't apply directly. Your lender is normally an approved agent for the grant, and they lodge it as part of your loan application.

If your lender isn't an approved agent, or you're not borrowing, you apply to the State Revenue Office yourself.

Either way, it's paid at settlement for an established build, or at the first progress payment for a construction loan. Which matters, because you can't use it as part of the deposit you need to sign a contract.

Should it change what you buy?

Be careful here. Ten thousand dollars is a real amount of money, but it isn't a reason on its own to buy new instead of established.

New builds in growth corridors come with their own considerations. Build timelines, progress payments while you're still paying rent, and the fact that you're often buying into an estate where a lot of similar homes will be selling at the same time.

Established homes in the same corridor often sit closer to amenities and existing transport.

The grant is a factor in the decision. It shouldn't be the decision.

What to check first

Work out whether you qualify for the First Home Guarantee, since for most buyers that's the bigger number. Then look at whether the type of property you actually want happens to attract the grant as well.

The free scheme checker on this site runs both, along with stamp duty and the super saver scheme, and tells you which apply to your situation.

Let's get you into a home.