As well as assisting first home buyers, we also manage other schemes to help Victorians buy or build their own homes.
Concessions for home buyers
Pensioner exemptions and concessions
This year, 4,678 pensioners accessed exemptions and concessions available to them to buy their own homes, totalling $87.7 million in savings.
Principal place of residence concessions
The principal place of residence (PPR) concession is available to people who buy a property valued up to $550,000 and move into their home within 12 months of settlement.
In 2024–25, 36,509 people accessed this concession, savings home buyers a total of $92.3 million.
Table 9: PPR concessions
| PPR concessions | Number | Value ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Melbourne | 22,368 | 58.6 |
| Regional Victoria | 14,141 | 33.7 |
| Total | 36,509 | 92.3 |
Australian HomeBuilder Grant
The Homebuilder Grant launched in 2020 to boost the construction sector during the pandemic, offering up to $25,000 for eligible new builds and renovations.
We administer the HomeBuilder Grant on behalf of the Australian Government. Applications for this grant closed on 14 April 2021, but the deadline to submit supporting documentation for existing applications was extended until 30 June 2025.
Throughout 2024–25, we continued to manage the delivery of these grants, with 179 successful applications receiving $3.8 million in grants.
Victorian Homebuyer Fund
The Victorian Homebuyer Fund (VHF) is a shared equity scheme which makes it easier for Victorians to achieve home ownership. The VHF allows eligible participants to work with a lender to buy a house sooner without the burden of saving a large deposit.
The VHF was meant to close on 30 June 2025, but the Victorian Government has announced a short-term extension until the $2.8 billion investment is exhausted.
If you have a 5% deposit, the Victorian Government can contribute up to 25% of the purchase price in exchange for an equivalent share in the property, reducing the mortgage and removing the need for Lenders Mortgage Insurance.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants only require a 3.5% deposit and are eligible for a 35% shared equity contribution. 84 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants have joined the scheme since it started, and 76 settled properties are owned by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
In 2024–25:
- there were 5,108 successful applications and 4,688 settled properties with total shared equity of $1,105,731,460
- we processed 99% of applications within 5 days
- the median purchase price was $622,800
- 47% of participants were aged 25 to 34
- single participants made up 61% of purchases, while multi-person households (mainly couples) made up 39%
- 91% of settled properties were in metropolitan Melbourne and Geelong, while 9% were in regional Victoria
- the top metro locations were Tarneit/Truganina, Melbourne, Reservoir, Point Cook and Clyde/Clyde North
- the top regional locations were Ballarat, Latrobe-Gippsland, Hume, Bendigo and Shepparton
- there was a net realised gain of $1,014,458.
The VHF has now assisted 22,242 single or multi-person households to purchase a home since it was launched in October 2021. In that time, there have been 15,553 settled properties resulting in $2,726,755,284 total shared equity held by the Government.
The Victorian Homebuyer Fund has now closed to new participants. If you are looking to purchase, you will soon be able to access the Commonwealth Government’s Help to Buy scheme.