Help to Buy Update 2026: 7,700 Places Left

The Australian Government Help to Buy scheme reached a meaningful milestone this week. 278 households have now moved into homes purchased under the program - the first real evidence that the shared equity scheme is working in practice after its December 2025 launch. With 2,300 of 10,000 annual places already approved, roughly 23 per cent of the year's allocation is now committed. That leaves approximately 7,700 spots still open for the rest of 2026, but the pace of approvals means first home buyers who have been watching from the sidelines now have a clearer picture of whether this scheme is worth pursuing.

How Help to Buy actually works

Help to Buy is a shared equity scheme. The federal government co-purchases a portion of your home alongside you. For a new home, the government contributes up to 40 per cent of the purchase price. For an existing home, the contribution is up to 30 per cent. You need a minimum deposit of only 2 per cent of the property price to qualify, compared with the 20 per cent typically required to avoid lenders mortgage insurance.

Because the government's equity share reduces the size of your mortgage, your monthly repayments and total interest paid over the loan term are significantly lower than they would be on the full property price. If you buy a home at $800,000 and the government contributes 30 per cent, you are borrowing against $560,000 rather than $800,000. The difference in repayments at current interest rates is substantial - particularly with the cash rate at 4.10 per cent and another hike possible on 5 May.

The government holds an equity share in the property. When you sell, refinance to buy out the government's stake, or transfer ownership, the government receives its proportional share of the property's value at that time. If the property has grown in value, the government's share grows with it. If values have fallen, the government shares in that loss too. A mortgage broker familiar with the scheme can explain exactly how the equity arrangement is structured before you apply, and the Scheme Comparison Tool can help you weigh Help to Buy against other available options.

Eligibility: income limits, deposit, and price caps

To qualify for Help to Buy, your taxable income must be $100,000 per year or less as an individual, or up to $160,000 for couples and single parents. You cannot own any other land or property in Australia or overseas at the time of your application. The 2 per cent minimum deposit applies to the full purchase price, not the portion you are financing.

Property price caps apply by location:

• Sydney: up to $1,300,000
• Melbourne: up to $950,000
• Brisbane: up to $1,000,000
• Perth: up to $850,000
• Adelaide: up to $700,000
• Canberra: up to $900,000
• Darwin: up to $700,000

The scheme is currently available in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory. Tasmania has opted out of the program for now.

Home loans under Help to Buy are currently only available through Commonwealth Bank and Bank Australia. More lenders are expected to participate as the scheme matures through 2026, which should open up more product choices. For now, comparing both lenders on rate and service - ideally with the help of a broker - is the practical approach.

How many places remain and what the pace means

The scheme allocates 10,000 places nationally per year on a first-come, first-served basis. With approximately 2,300 already approved, the remaining places are substantial, but the demand signal from the first five months of operation is clear: buyers are using this.

The 278 settled purchasers provide a meaningful data point. Settlement typically follows exchange by six to twelve weeks, which means a meaningful portion of those 2,300 approvals were granted in the early months and have already completed. The scheme is not a backlog of pending approvals sitting in limbo - it is translating into actual home ownership.

Whether the remaining 7,700 places will last through the full year is impossible to predict precisely, but the scheme has not shown any sign of slowing. Buyers who are eligible and ready to act have a reasonable window, but waiting without a clear reason to wait adds unnecessary uncertainty.

What this means for first home buyers right now

For buyers who have been researching Help to Buy since its December launch, the settlement milestone confirms the scheme is operational and delivering results. Here are the most practical steps to take in May 2026:

• Check your income against the threshold carefully. The $100,000 individual and $160,000 combined caps apply to taxable income. If your income is close to the boundary, an accountant or financial adviser can help you understand whether salary packaging or other factors affect your eligibility before you apply.
• Confirm the price cap for your target area and suburb. The caps are generous in Sydney and Brisbane but more restrictive in Adelaide and Darwin. If the properties on your shortlist sit above the cap, Help to Buy will not apply - though other schemes such as the 5% Deposit Scheme may still be relevant.
• Contact the participating lenders to compare your options. With a small accredited panel, it is straightforward to obtain quotes from each and compare rates and application processes. Check housingaustralia.gov.au for the current lender list, as the panel is expected to expand.
• Model your repayments on the reduced loan, not the full price. Because the government contributes part of the purchase price, your mortgage is smaller. Running the numbers on what your actual monthly repayment looks like - based on the portion you are financing - gives a much more accurate budget estimate than using the full property price.
• Check whether you can stack Help to Buy with state grants. Depending on your state and property type, you may be able to combine the scheme with a First Home Owner Grant, stamp duty concession, or both. The Grant Stacker shows which grants and concessions apply to your situation based on state, property type, and purchase price.

Run the numbers

Use these tools to understand how Help to Buy fits your specific situation:

• Scheme Comparison Tool - compare Help to Buy against the 5% Deposit Scheme and other federal and state-based programs side by side, based on your income, deposit, and location
• Borrowing Power Calculator - model your borrowing capacity on the reduced loan amount that Help to Buy delivers, under current interest rate conditions
• LMI Calculator - see how much lenders mortgage insurance you would pay on a standard low-deposit loan compared to entering under the Help to Buy 2% deposit arrangement
• Grant Stacker - check which state-based grants and concessions you may be able to combine with the Help to Buy scheme