First home buyers in Geelong: navigating the schemes and the market

Geelong remains one of the more accessible Victorian cities for first home buyers seeking to purchase a house — as opposed to an apartment — without the compromises of outer-ring Melbourne location or a home that requires significant renovation to be liveable. The combination of a median house price approximately 30 per cent below Melbourne, the availability of regional first home buyer assistance, and a stable employed local economy creates conditions where determined first home buyers can achieve ownership within a reasonable timeframe if they pursue the available programs and are strategic about location within the Geelong metropolitan area.

The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee is the most valuable tool available to Geelong first home buyers, allowing eligible buyers to purchase with a 5 per cent deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance for properties up to $750,000. For a first home buyer purchasing at $680,000 — the Geelong median — the scheme saves approximately $18,000 in lenders mortgage insurance and allows purchase with a $34,000 deposit rather than the $136,000 that a standard 20 per cent deposit would require. The deposit saving is substantial and genuinely enables purchase years earlier than the 20 per cent deposit accumulation timeline for many buyers.

The First Home Owner Grant of $10,000 applies in Victoria for eligible buyers of new homes — either a newly built house, apartment, or townhouse, or an off-the-plan purchase — up to $750,000. Geelong has significant new construction activity in the Armstrong Creek and Lara growth corridors where new homes within the grant price cap are available, making the grant accessible to Geelong buyers willing to purchase in the developing outer corridors. Established homes do not attract the grant.

Financial advisers helping Geelong first home buyers navigate the schemes emphasise the importance of checking current eligibility before making purchase decisions, as scheme income caps, property price limits, and eligibility conditions have been adjusted periodically and current terms differ from what applied to earlier cohorts of buyers.

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