First Home Buyers
First Home Buyer Guide for NSW: Grants, Stamp Duty & Deposits
Buying your first home in NSW can feel like chasing a moving target - prices shift, rates move, and the rules around grants and concessions seem to change every budget cycle. The good news? In 2026, first home buyers in NSW have access to some genuinely valuable support, and a softer Sydney market means better entry prices than we've seen in a while. Here's what's on the table, how much it's actually worth, and the smartest way to put it all together.
1. Stamp duty: the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme (FHBAS)
Transfer duty (what most people still call stamp duty) is usually the biggest upfront cost after your deposit - and for eligible first home buyers in NSW, it can disappear entirely.
Under the FHBAS:
- Full exemption on existing or new homes valued up to $800,000
- Concessional (reduced) duty on a sliding scale for homes between $800,000 and $1,000,000
- Vacant land attracts lower thresholds - a full exemption up to $350,000 and concessions up to $450,000
What that's worth in real money: on a $750,000 home, an eligible first home buyer pays $0 in transfer duty, while a non-first-home buyer would pay roughly $29,000. That's a five-figure saving that goes straight back into your deposit, your buffer, or your renovation fund.
To qualify, you (and your co-purchaser, if you have one) generally need to be over 18, never have owned residential property in Australia, and move into the home within 12 months and live there for a continuous period. Thresholds and rules do get adjusted, so always verify the current settings at revenue.nsw.gov.au before you commit. Our stamp duty calculator can give you a quick estimate of where you'd land.
2. The First Home Owner Grant: $10,000 for new homes
If you're buying or building a brand-new home, the First Home Owner Grant (New Homes) adds $10,000 to your kitty. The key word is new - established homes don't qualify.
Price caps apply:
- New home purchase (e.g. a newly built house, townhouse or apartment no one has lived in): up to $600,000
- House-and-land builds (land plus construction contract): total value up to $750,000
The grant can often be counted towards your deposit at settlement or progress payments, and yes - you can stack it with the FHBAS stamp duty exemption if you meet both sets of criteria.
3. The First Home Guarantee: 5% deposit, no LMI
The First Home Guarantee is a federal scheme run through Housing Australia. In short: the government guarantees part of your loan so you can buy with as little as a 5% deposit without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).
Following recent expansions, places are no longer capped and eligibility has broadened significantly - income caps and the definition of "first home buyer" have both been loosened compared with the scheme's early years. Property price caps still apply and vary by region, and not every lender participates, so check the current settings at housingaustralia.gov.au (or ask us - matching buyers to participating lenders is a big part of what we do).
Here's how the three schemes compare at a glance:
| Scheme | What you get | Key caps / eligibility |
|---|---|---|
| FHBAS (NSW) | Full stamp duty exemption, or concession | Full exemption to $800k; concession $800k-$1m; live in the home; never owned property |
| First Home Owner Grant (NSW) | $10,000 cash grant | New homes only; $600k purchase cap or $750k house-and-land |
| First Home Guarantee (federal) | Buy with 5% deposit, no LMI | Uncapped places; income and regional price caps apply; participating lenders only |
4. The deposit reality check
How much do you actually need? It depends on which path you take:
- 20% deposit: no LMI, the widest lender choice, and the sharpest rates. On an $800,000 purchase that's $160,000 - a big ask.
- 5-10% deposit without the Guarantee: possible, but LMI at 90-95% LVR can run to tens of thousands of dollars on a Sydney-priced property (indicative only - LMI varies by lender, loan size and LVR). It's often capitalised into the loan, so you pay interest on it too.
- 5% deposit with the First Home Guarantee: the LMI bill disappears, which is why this scheme is so popular.
- Guarantor (family guarantee) loans: a parent uses equity in their own property as security for part of your loan, potentially letting you borrow up to 100% plus costs with no LMI. It's a serious commitment for the guarantor, but for the right family it can beat every scheme above.
Whichever route you take, lenders will want to see genuine savings - typically 5% of the purchase price held or accumulated over at least three months.
5. The 2026 market: softer prices, tighter borrowing
It's a strange moment, and honestly, an interesting one for first home buyers. The cash rate sits at 4.35% after three hikes so far in 2026, and the sharpest big-bank advertised variable rates are around 5.99-6.09% - Westpac's Flexi First at 5.99% (for loans at or below 70% LVR), with CBA's Digi and Macquarie's basic variable at 6.09% (correct as at 4 July 2026; see Westpac's rate page and Macquarie's rates).
Meanwhile, Sydney dwelling values actually fell 1.2% in June 2026 on the Cotality index - the largest national monthly fall since December 2022.
What does that mean for you? Softer prices improve your entry point, but higher rates reduce how much the bank will lend you. The buyers doing well right now are the prepared ones: they know their numbers, they have pre-approval in hand, and they can move when the right property appears. Run your numbers through our borrowing power calculator and keep an eye on current rates as you plan.
6. Your step-by-step path
- Budget and borrowing power. Work out what repayments you're comfortable with - not just what a lender will approve.
- Deposit and schemes check. Tally your savings, any grant eligibility, FHBAS savings and whether the First Home Guarantee fits.
- Pre-approval. A formal pre-approval tells agents you're serious and tells you your real ceiling.
- House hunt. Inspect widely, research recent comparable sales, and stay inside your number.
- Offer or auction. Private treaty offers can be conditional; auction purchases are unconditional, so do your due diligence first.
- Settlement. Your conveyancer, lender and broker coordinate the final steps - then it's keys in hand.
Two mistakes to avoid: first, borrowing right at the top of your capacity - three rate rises this year alone show why a buffer matters. Second, forgetting upfront costs beyond the deposit: conveyancing (roughly $1,500-$3,000), building and pest inspections, and mortgage registration fees (around $340) all land before or at settlement.
If you'd like a hand pulling it all together, our first home buyer loans team lives and breathes this stuff, and a free loan assessment is the easiest first step.
This article is general information only and does not take your personal circumstances into account. Scheme rules, thresholds and rates change - confirm your eligibility directly with Revenue NSW and Housing Australia before making decisions. This is not personal financial or credit advice. Emerald Financial, Australian Credit Licence 000 000.