A new homebuyer fund has been launched by the Victorian government to help more people buy their own home.
The fund is open to buying homes in regional areas as well.
The Victorian Homebuyer Fund's shared equity arrangement will reduce the amount of money eligible participants need to enter the market.
It is aimed at relieving Victorian homebuyers from the extra financial burden of Lenders' Mortgage Insurance.
The $500 million fund is expected to support more than 3000 Victorians become homeowners.
It is an expansion of the government's $50 million HomesVic Shared Equity Initiative, a pilot program which supported more than 335 households to buy their first home.
Eligibility criteria under the VHF will be broader than the HomesVic pilot, making shared equity accessible to more Victorians.
Under the new scheme, they no longer need to be first home buyers, can buy in a broader range of locations and can have higher household incomes than compared to the earlier pilot.
The VHF is available to Australian citizens or permanent residents over the age of 18 years, who currently don't have an interest in a property and who meet the income thresholds.
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Eligible participants only require a five per cent deposit and the government provides up to 25 per cent of the purchase price, in exchange for an equivalent share in the property.
Homeowners can buy out the government's share at market value over time if they choose, with funds then reinvested to help other aspiring homebuyers get into the property market.
Eligible participants can purchase in any location in metropolitan Melbourne and are provided with a broad range of regional options when searching for their home.
The value of the property cannot exceed $950,000 in Melbourne and Geelong, while the price cap in regional Victoria excluding Geelong is $600,000.
Victorian Homebuyer Fund participants are still eligible for other Victorian Government housing schemes, including the First Home Owner Grant and first home buyer stamp duty concessions or exemptions.
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