PHOTO: Australian first-home buyers are becoming older. Photo: iStock
The number of older Australians buying their first home as they head towards retirement is growing as new data reveals buyers up to the age of 59 are applying for government help to break into the market.
More than 5700 Australians have signed up for the federal government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, which enables first-home buyers to get into the market with as little as a 5 per cent deposit – without having to pay lenders mortgage insurance (LMI).
The latest figures from the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation showed that while most of the applicants were aged 25 to 29 (34 per cent), 11 per cent of the applicants (more than 500) so far were aged between 40 and 59.
Grattan Institute Household Finances program director Brendan Coates said as well as those applying for government assistance, there was also an increasing number of older Australians dipping into their retirement funds to buy their first home.
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