First Home Buyers

First Home Owners Grant Western Australia

Buying your First Home is the dream of most Australians. The First Home Owners Grant [FHOG] is a grant system provided by the Commonwealth Government and administered by the various State Governments. The grant is intended to assist first-time home buyers with the opportunity to enter the market and buy their first home.

In Western Australia the government provides eligible first-time home buyers up to $10,000 towards buying and building your first home. The grant is not means tested but you need to be eligible. To be eligible for the FHOG, applications must satisfy the following criteria:

• • Each applicant must be a natural person (i.e. not a company or trust)
  • Each applicant must be 18 years of age or over at the date of making an application
  • At least one of the applicants must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident at the date of making an application
  • Each applicant and/or their spouse cannot have previously received a FHOG or FHOR (First Home Owners Rate) of duty under this scheme
  • Each applicant and/or their spouse cannot have owned residential property anywhere in Australia before 1 July 2000
  • Each applicant and/or their spouse cannot have previously owned residential property anywhere in Australia on or after 1 July 2000 and occupied that property as a place of residence before 1 July 2004
  • Each applicant and/or their spouse cannot have previously owned residential property anywhere in Australia on or after 1 July 2000 and occupied that property as a place of residence for a continuous period of at least six months that began on or after 1 July 2004
  • Each applicant must occupy the home as their principal place of residence for a continuous period of at least six months, commencing within 12 months of completion of the eligible transaction
  • Each applicant must have entered into an eligible transaction on or after 1 July 2000. An eligible transaction is defined under section 14 of the First Home Owner Grant Act 2000, but is generally a contract for the purchase or construction of a home, or commencement of construction of a home as an owner builder.
  • For eligible transactions commencing on or after 1 January 2010, the total value of the home must not exceed the cap amount. The cap amount is
    • $750,000 if the property is located south of the 26th parallel of south latitude or
    • $1,000,000 if located north of the 26th parallel of south latitude
  • Each applicant must own the home in their own capacity and not as a trustee of a trust (except as a guardian who holds the interest on trust for a person with a legal disability).

For more information, visit the Western Australian Government’s website or download the First Home Owner’s Grant Fact Sheet

Extra information

As well as the FHOG, the State Government of Western Australia provides eligible First Home Buyers with the First Home Owner Rate, which offers concession to stamp duty.  First home buyers in WA do not pay stamp duty on properties up to the value of $430,000, an if the property is valued between $430,001 to $600,000 it will attract a concessional rate on stamp duty. Considering stamp duty on a $250,000 property is some $7,000, the saving to first home buyers can be substantial and help someone get into their first home sooner.

For more information download the First Home Owners Rate fact sheet.

If you have any enquiries concerning the First Home Owners Grant Scheme or the First Home Owners Rate, please feel free to call us at Merrifield Real Estate. We are always willing to help.