First home buyers in Ballarat: the Regional Guarantee makes ownership achievable

Ballarat is one of the most accessible markets in Victoria for first home buyers who are willing to consider a regional location, with median house prices below $560,000 making the city genuinely within reach for first home buyers on combined incomes above $100,000 who apply the available assistance programs and have maintained the savings discipline to accumulate a 5 per cent deposit over a realistic period.

The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee is specifically designed for buyers in regional Victoria — including Ballarat — and allows eligible first home buyers to purchase with a 5 per cent deposit on properties up to $750,000 without incurring lenders mortgage insurance. For a Ballarat first home buyer purchasing at $500,000, the 5 per cent deposit is $25,000, and the LMI saving at 95 per cent LVR is approximately $10,000-$14,000. The combined financial benefit of the guarantee — reduced deposit requirement and LMI saving — is material at Ballarat prices and makes the gap between renting and owning much smaller than it would be without the scheme.

The Victorian First Home Owner Grant of $10,000 for new builds is available for eligible Ballarat buyers purchasing or constructing a new home, providing additional support for buyers targeting the house and land packages and new home builders who are active in Ballarat's developing growth areas. The combination of the $10,000 grant and the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee creates a package that makes new construction in Ballarat's outer suburbs genuinely accessible for first home buyers on typical Ballarat wages.

Financial advisers helping Ballarat first home buyers prepare for purchase consistently identify the opportunity to use the First Home Super Saver Scheme as underutilised. The scheme allows voluntary superannuation contributions to be saved for a home deposit at a tax advantage, with up to $50,000 withdrawable for a first home deposit. For Ballarat workers on $60,000-$80,000 salaries who face a 32.5 per cent marginal tax rate, the super saving rate of 15 per cent means that each dollar contributed to super saves 17.5 cents in tax — a meaningful return that accelerates deposit accumulation beyond what an equivalent bank savings rate delivers.

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