Since February, it’s been a challenge getting a handle on the seemingly moveable feast, which is the Northern Territory’s very generous home buyer incentives.

Leon Loganathan, a Partner from law firm Ward Keller, who recently presented an overview of the incentives to our team in Darwin said for starters if you’re a first-timer buying a new home, you’re eligible for a First Home Owners Grant of $26,000. From 7 May 2019, it will be $10,000. There is no cap on the value of the property that will affect eligibility for this grant, while you might also be eligible for the Build Bonus.

If you are buying or building a new home in the NT, you can apply for a grant of $20,000. This grant is only available to the first 600 applicants and is open to anyone, whether you own property or not. To be eligible for this grant, says Leon, you must have entered into a contract to build or buy a home, or have started construction as an owner builder on or after 8 February 2019.

If that isn’t enough, there is also the Household Goods Grant Scheme. If you buy a new property as your first home, you may be eligible to apply for up to $2,000 to purchase household goods including white goods, brown goods (televisions and computers), furniture and more. There is a caveat that you must buy your goods from a business that has a permanent base in the NT, engages in the production of goods or the delivery of services and employs Territory residents.

If you want to choose an established property as your first digs, Leon said you might be eligible for a discount off the stamp duty. This is called the First Home Owners Discount (FHOD), and it currently provides a discount of up to $23,928.60 off your stamp duty. In other words, you can purchase a house up to $500,000 without paying stamp duty, noted Leon. “You can purchase a property up to $650,000 and still obtain the stamp duty concession on the first $500,000.”  Note that the concession will be trimmed to $18,601 on 7 May, which means there will be no stamp duty on properties valued up to $430,000.

If you wish to refurbish the established property, there is a Renovation Grant – First Home Buyer. Leon explained, “You will get a voucher to use with each business you want to deal with up to a value of $10,000.” This grant includes the $2,000 Household Goods Grant.

To find out more about the grants and stamp duty concessions available to first-time buyers in the Northern Territory, contact Raine & Horne Darwin on (08) 8941 8941.