What is the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG)?

The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG) is part of the Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS), an Australian Government initiative to support eligible home buyers purchase a home sooner. 

The purpose of the RFHBG is to help eligible regional first home buyers or non-first home buyers who haven't owned a property in Australia in the last ten years to buy a modest home in regional areas. The guarantee enables eligible buyers to purchase a home with as little as 5% deposit, without having to pay Lenders' Mortgage Insurance (LMI). 

People’s Choice is a participating lender offering the RFHBG. If you’re interested in applying for the RFHBG, please register your interest below or speak with our Home Loan Specialists to discuss the options available to you.
 

Who is eligible for the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG)?

To be eligible, you need to meet the following criteria:
  • You're an Australian citizen or permanent resident aged 18 years or over.
  • You intend to be the owner-occupier of the purchased property.
  • You're applying as an individual or joint application. Joint applications can be made between married or de-facto couples, friends, siblings or other family members.
  • You earned less than $125,000 in the previous tax year as an individual, or less than $200,000 as a couple.

  • You're a first home buyer or you haven't owned a property in Australia in the last ten years.
  • You (or at least one borrower when applying as a couple) must have lived in the regional area or adjacent regional area you are purchasing in for the preceding 12-month period to the date you execute the home loan agreement. Employees who have been required to relocate for work may be exempt from this requirement. 

  • You have saved a 5% deposit plus standard fees and charges (e.g. stamp duty).

What types of properties are eligible?

For a property to be eligible under the RFHBG, it must be a ‘residential property’. Eligible residential properties generally include:
  • An existing house, townhouse or apartment
  • A house and land package

  • Land and a separate contract to build a home
  • An off-the-plan apartment or townhouse

What is a regional area?

A regional area is defined as:

  • The Statistical Area Level 4 (ASGS SA4 2016) areas in a State or the Northern Territory that are not a capital city of that State or Territory; and
  • Norfolk Island; or the Territories of Jervis Bay, Christmas Island or Cocos (Keeling) Islands;

as defined in the version published by The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in July 2016.

The greater capital city areas of each state and the Northern Territory; and the entire Australian Capital Territory are excluded from the RFHBG. Home buyers in these areas may be eligible for the First Home Guarantee or the Family Home Guarantee.

The Regional Checker allows you to enter the suburb (or postcode) of your current home and the suburb (or postcode) you would like to purchase in, so you can confirm if you are eligible for the RFHBG. The Regional Checker is available on the Housing Australia website.

Property price caps

Maximum purchase prices (property price caps set by Government legislation) are applicable for eligible properties purchased under the Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS). The property price caps are the same for all HGS Guarantees. The price caps for the RFHBG are listed on the Housing Australia website.
Register your interest in the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee
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