The Victoria first home buyer guide.

If you're buying in Victoria and have never owned property, you may be eligible for more concessions than you realise, and how they interact matters. The First Home Owner Grant, the Victorian stamp duty exemption or concession and the federal 5% Deposit Scheme (formerly the Home Guarantee Scheme) each have their own eligibility criteria and price caps, and each affects your out-of-pocket cost differently. Combined correctly, they can take tens of thousands off what your first home costs you at settlement.

This guide explains each of them in plain English, with the eligibility rules as they stand for 2026. Before you act on any of it, check the rules haven't changed. Government schemes change more often than most people keep track of.

The second big decision is how much deposit to save before you buy. The common options are 5% (with the 5% Deposit Scheme or LMI), 10% (with capitalised LMI and less strain on cashflow) and 20% (no LMI, a better rate and more choice of lender). Which one suits you depends on market conditions, how quickly you save, how stable your job is and the price bracket you're targeting.

We model all three with real numbers in a discovery call. For most first home buyers in 2026, the 5% Deposit Scheme is the most capital-efficient option if you qualify. Waiting three years to save another 15% often means prices have moved further than the LMI would have cost.

Before you go to an auction, you need formal pre-approval. That means a credit-checked, income-verified position from a specific lender. An online calculator estimate doesn't count. Formal pre-approval typically lasts 90 days and lets you bid at auction without a finance clause. It also locks in how the lender currently reads your situation under its policy, which helps if policies are tightening.

The most common first home buyer mistake is bidding at auction without formal pre-approval. In Victoria an auction purchase has no cooling-off period and no finance clause, so if you win, you are committed whether or not a lender approves the loan. Even when it works out, the stress is avoidable. Get pre-approval sorted first.

Once contracts exchange, your broker and conveyancer run the process. Settlement is typically 30 to 45 days after contract, and loan documents are issued 1 to 2 weeks before settlement. You sign the mortgage documents, the lender advances funds on settlement day, your conveyancer handles registration and the balance of the purchase price, and you get the keys.

Many brokers go quiet after settlement. We stay in touch. Annual rate reviews, a review when your circumstances change and a broker who still answers the phone five years later are things most first home buyers don't know to ask about, and they can save thousands over the life of the loan.