The Complete First Home Buyer Guide for Victoria (2026)

Step 1 — Are you actually ready to buy?

Not "have you saved enough" — that comes next. Ready means three quieter things.

Your income is stable enough to promise away. A mortgage is a decades-long commitment paid monthly. If your job, industry, or visa situation might change dramatically in the next year or two, that doesn't mean no — it means factor it in before the bank does it for you.

Buying actually beats renting for your timeline. The honest comparison isn't rent versus mortgage — it's the cost of renting versus the non-equity costs of owning (interest, rates, insurance, strata, maintenance), because only the principal you repay is really savings. Buying carries big one-off costs on the way in and out, so it tends to win the longer you stay — the break-even usually sits several years out. If your city, work or relationship might move within a couple of years, renting longer can be the smarter move, not a failure. There's no universal answer — there's your answer: run the free rent vs buy calculator with your rent, your price and your timeline, and see your break-even year. (Jordan did exactly this — "rent money is dead money" is only half true.)

You know why you're buying. Security, stability, a place the kids stay in one school zone — reasons a calculator can't weigh, but you should be able to say out loud.

If those three hold, keep reading in order.

Step 2 — Money first: deposit, borrowing power and the real costs

The deposit. The clean number is 20% of the purchase price — that's where lenders stop charging Lenders' Mortgage Insurance (LMI). But most first home buyers don't wait for 20%: many lenders accept 5–10% with LMI added, and the government schemes below can cut the deposit to 5% — or 2% for eligible single parents — with no LMI at all. The trade-off is real, though: a smaller deposit means a bigger loan, so you pay more in repayments every month and more interest over the life of the loan — getting in earlier costs you more per month once you're in. Priya and Dan worked through exactly this trade-off with $68,000 saved and a baby due in seven months — their deposit story is the long version.

What you can borrow. Your borrowing power is roughly income minus living costs and debts — then stress-tested at an interest rate about 3 percentage points above the real one (the APRA serviceability buffer). Two incomes don't simply double the number (Hannah and Leo learned that), and a single income with kids is assessed harder (Mel's story — and the 2% single-parent path that changed her maths).

Run your own numbers in two minutes with the free borrowing power calculator — no signup.

The costs nobody puts in the listing. Beyond deposit and repayments, budget for: stamp duty (the big one — though first home buyers often pay less or nothing, next section), conveyancing (roughly $1,000–$2,500), building and pest inspections (a few hundred dollars per serious contender), loan fees, and moving costs. The bank's maximum was never meant to be your budget — leave room to live.

Step 3 — First home buyer grants and schemes in Victoria

This is the part most buyers underclaim. Five levers, each with its own rules — the full schemes guide covers all of them in depth:

• Stamp duty exemption and concession (VIC). At or under $600,000, eligible first home buyers pay no duty at all; from $600,000 to $750,000 it tapers. The first dollar over $600k is the most expensive dollar you'll ever spend — the stamp duty story shows why.
• First Home Owner Grant. $10,000, but new builds only — and for a house-and-land build, the duty saving sitting next to it is often worth more (Steph and Marcus's story).
• The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme (formerly the First Home Guarantee). Buy with 5% down and no LMI, under property price caps — how the guarantee actually works.
• Help to Buy. Shared equity — the government takes a stake in the home, you buy with as little as 2% and a smaller mortgage; the catch is sharing the upside later (Nick and Tom's story).
• First Home Super Saver. Save your deposit inside super, taxed lightly, with up to $50,000 withdrawable for your first home — Jordan's FHSS story.

Permanent residents qualify for more than most people tell them — Amir and Sara nearly talked themselves out of buying over a surcharge that was never theirs to pay (their story).

Check which schemes light up for your situation and price with the free scheme eligibility checker.

Step 4 — Choosing where: the suburb decision

Most people inherit a suburb search — a friend's tip, the map's default zoom — then look for reasons to confirm it. Flip the order: name your non-negotiables first (school zone, commute ceiling, safety, space), then let data shortlist the suburbs that pass. School catchments follow addresses, not suburbs; crime numbers beat vibes; and the median price decides whether your budget is realistic there at all. Priya and Dan's suburb story walks the method.

Property type is its own fork — established, off-the-plan, or house-and-land each trade differently on duty, grants, and risk (the property-type guide).

Step 5 — The hunt: listings, inspections and reading between the lines

Listings are advertising. The photos are wide-angled, the words are chosen by a professional to sell — and the open home is styled to make you imagine living there instead of checking whether you should. An open runs 15–30 minutes, and most buyers spend them recognising rooms from last night's photos — not inspecting. What to check yourself (wet areas first, taps, windows, cracks), what to ask the agent, and the two documents Victorian law gives you at the door — the Statement of Information with three comparable sales, and the due diligence checklist — are all in Mel's inspection story.

Remember whose side the agent is on: the vendor pays them. They must not mislead you, but their advice is not advice for you.

Step 6 — Making an offer (and auction basics in Victoria)

Private sale. You make a written offer through the agent, usually with conditions — "subject to finance" and "subject to building and pest inspection" are the two that protect first home buyers most. Victoria gives most private-sale buyers a three-business-day cooling-off period (with exceptions, and a small cost to use it — details at Consumer Affairs Victoria). Never sign anything you haven't had checked.

Auction. The opposite rules. No cooling-off, no conditions — if the hammer falls on your bid, you've bought it, unconditionally, deposit due that day. Which is why everything in this guide — finance approval, building inspection, contract review — must happen before auction day, not after. Set your walk-away number when you're calm, and treat it as physics.

Step 7 — From offer to keys: conveyancing, finance and settlement

Once a contract is in play, the professionals take over — this section is procedural, because these are jobs you hire done, not DIY.

• A conveyancer (or solicitor) reviews the Section 32 vendor statement and the contract before you're committed — title, easements, owners corporation obligations, anything the vendor must disclose — then manages the legal transfer through to settlement.
• Your lender moves from pre-approval to unconditional approval on the specific property (they'll usually value it). Nothing is certain until unconditional — don't waive a finance condition on a "should be fine."
• Between exchange and settlement (commonly 30–90 days, negotiable): your side lodges the paperwork, you arrange building insurance from the date the contract requires, and you do a final inspection in the last days to confirm the property is in the state you bought it in.
• Settlement day happens between the lawyers and the bank, mostly electronically. Money moves, the title transfers, and the agent hands you the keys.

This section describes the standard process, not advice for your situation — your conveyancer and lender direct the specifics.

Step 8 — The first home buyer checklist

The whole guide, skimmable:

1. Ready? Stable income · rent vs buy run honestly — break-even vs how long you'll stay · real reasons.
2. Money. Deposit path chosen (20%, low-deposit + LMI, or scheme-backed 5%) — knowing a smaller deposit means higher monthly repayments · borrowing power run · upfront costs budgeted (duty, conveyancing, inspections, fees).
3. Schemes. Eligibility checked — duty exemption, FHOG, 5% Deposit Scheme, Help to Buy, FHSS.
4. Where. Non-negotiables written down → suburb shortlist → property type chosen.
5. The hunt. Statement of Information collected · due diligence checklist read · inspections done with a checklist, not a feeling.
6. Offer. Private sale: conditions on finance + inspection, cooling-off understood. Auction: everything unconditional before the day, walk-away number set.
7. Contract to keys. Conveyancer engaged before signing · unconditional finance · insurance from the required date · final inspection · settlement.

General information only — not financial, legal, or tax advice. Scheme rules, caps and thresholds change; confirm current details with the official sources linked above and with licensed professionals.