Eligible first home buyers may want to act sooner rather than later, after thousands of Australians applied for Help to Buy in its first seven months.

The federal government’s Help to Buy scheme has reopened with 10,000 places available for the 2026–27 financial year.

Between the scheme’s launch in December 2025 and the end of June 2026, more than 7,200 applications were submitted.

A quick refresher

Help to Buy is a shared-equity scheme.

The government contributes up to 40% of the purchase price for a new home or 30% for an existing home, allowing eligible buyers to purchase with a smaller loan.

In return, the government shares in any future gains or losses when the property is eventually sold.

Worth considering? Here’s the trade-off

Potential benefits:

• Smaller mortgage.
• Lower repayments.
• Lower deposit requirement.

Things to weigh up:

• The government owns a share of the property.
• Some future capital growth is shared.
• Eligibility rules and property price caps apply.

Income caps have also increased (see table above), meaning more Australians may now qualify. If buying a first home is on the agenda, it may be worth checking eligibility sooner rather than later.

Wondering whether Help to Buy is the right fit? Reach out to compare it with other pathways into home ownership.