Building Guides
First home owners grant Victoria: building a new home
The $10,000 grant, the stamp duty saving on land, and who can get them.
Victoria’s First Home Owner Grant, the first home buyers grant, is $10,000 for a new home worth up to $750,000, and building a new home with a builder such as Oakview Homes in Melbourne’s south-east can qualify. Buy vacant land to build on and stamp duty is assessed on the land alone, not your building contract.
Rules from the State Revenue Office, which decides every application. Check them there before you sign.
Who can get the First Home Owner Grant?
- Every applicant is at least 18 when the home is finished.
- At least one applicant is an Australian citizen or permanent resident when the home is ready to live in.
- Neither you nor your partner has owned a home or other residential property in Australia before 1 July 2000, or had the grant before, anywhere in Australia.
- The home is new and worth up to $750,000.
- At least one of you lives in it as your main home for 12 months, starting within 12 months of the build being finished.
How much stamp duty do first home buyers pay on land?
When you buy vacant land to build your first home, the State Revenue Office works out the duty on the value of the land itself and does not include your building contract. First home buyers pay no duty up to $600,000 and a reduced amount from $600,001 to $750,000. You need to move in within 12 months of the occupancy certificate, or 36 months of settlement if that is sooner, and live there for 12 months (State Revenue Office).
How do you apply when you are building?
Most people apply through an approved agent, usually the bank or lender financing the build. If no approved agent lodges it for you, you can apply to the State Revenue Office within 12 months of the build being finished. When the money is paid depends on your contract and how you apply, so ask your lender how it fits your stage payments.
What will your lender ask for?
The signed building contract and, as the build goes on, each stage invoice. Oakview Homes builds to a Victorian building contract and invoices at each stage: see the five building stages and payments.
What does a first home cost to build?
Oakview Homes’ homes average $15,000 to $16,000 per square including GST, so a 20-square home is roughly $300,000 to $320,000 before the land. See what moves the price of a new home, try the rough cost guide, or call 03 8658 7000.
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