Did you know that First Home buyers can use up to $30k of their super to put towards their deposit?  I didn’t either!  When I heard about this last week, I decided to do some research into it!

First things first – why is this of any interest?  Well because it is becoming increasingly difficult ,with the average spend on a home increasing, it is becoming so hard for our First Home buyers to get their first home.. Well maybe this will help?

The Australian Government introduced, with the new budget in 2017,  First Home buyers  access to super of up to $30k.  In 2018 First Home buyers accounted for 18.1% of all housing acquisitions.  This is a big figure – the largest since October 2012.    Along with this we have also seen an increase of average housing loan.    As at June 2018 the average loan for a first home buyer was $349,800 which was a historic high -10.1% higher year-on-year. By comparison, the average loan size for a non-first home buyer owner occupier was a higher $406,900 but up by a lower 5.5% over the past year.

So what is this Government scheme?  .. This extract taken from ATO website explains it quite well – First Home Buyers Saving Scheme:
From 1 July 2017, you can make voluntary concessional (before-tax) and non-concessional (after-tax) contributions into your super fund to save for your first home.

From 1 July 2018, you can then apply to release your voluntary contributions, along with associated earnings, to help you purchase your first home. You must meet the eligibility requirements to apply for the release of these amounts.

You can use this scheme if you are a first home buyer and both of the following apply:

• You either live in the premises you are buying, or intend to as soon as practicable.
• You intend to live in the property for at least six months of the first 12 months you own it, after it is practical to move in.

You can apply to have a maximum of $15,000 of your voluntary contributions from any one financial year included in your eligible contributions to be released under the FHSS scheme, up to a total of $30,000 contributions across all years. You will also receive an amount of earnings that relate to those contributions.

Three key things to remember are:

• You can only apply for release once.
• Don’t sign your contract to purchase or construct your home until after we have released your money or you may be liable to pay FHSS tax.
• After we have approved the release, it will take about 25 business days for you to receive your money.

to see more about the FHSS go to :

https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Super/Super-housing-measures/First-Home-Super-Saver-Scheme/

This Scheme wont suit everyone, however it is another option to help our First Home buyers access some money that we all know can be really hard to save (especially when you are already renting!)  Of course, should you want to discuss further with a professional  Sokudo Finance are more than happy to assist and we can also refer you to one of our trusted advisors for more information.