With careful planning, government incentives, and affordable home and land packages available, now could be the perfect time to stop renting and get into a brand new home.

With housing affordability at its worst point in the past two decades, coupled with rising home prices and interest rates, buying conditions look tough for first home buyers.

“Home prices have surged in recent years”, explains PropTrack economist Eleanor Creagh.

“Mortgage rates have moved higher and growth in household incomes hasn’t kept up. As a result, housing affordability has deteriorated sharply hitting its worst level in at least three decades.”

Many tenants unfortunately find themselves stuck in the cycle of rising rents curbing their ability to save a deposit.

However, recent PropTrack data shows that activity levels among first-time buyers have remained consistent with the average over the past decade.

This indicates that savvy buyers are finding ways to navigate the challenging market conditions and get into their own homes.

So how should those looking to break out of the rent cycle approach buying their first home? With creativity, pragmatism and decisiveness - that’s how.

In the face of further economic uncertainty, rising rents and increasing competition now might be the perfect time to escape the rental cycle and secure home ownership.

By taking advantage of current market conditions – rather than sitting on the fence and waiting for them to deteriorate further - could be the key to securing your dream home.

“It's not as big a stretch as people would imagine,” says Nick Allan, Domaine Homes Sales and Marketing Manager.

People in their 20s and 30s may think they've missed the boat - but they really haven't, he explains.

By being realistic and flexible around the kinds of properties they consider buyers can still achieve home ownership in the Central Coast or southwest Sydney, for example.

Affordability in the regions is much better - and there's easy access to the city via public transport – he adds.

Ms Creagh explains that regional NSW residents are set to enjoy even better city connectivity in the future with a boost in government spending aimed at improving infrastructure, roads and rail.

“The Government has allocated funding to key infrastructure projects in each State and Territory.

“The federal budget handed down in May 2024 showed a clear focus on housing and transport infrastructure.”

What’s more, discerning buyers also have the chance to create the home they really want - rather than having to settle on an older existing house, Nick Allan explains.

"Building a brand new home in regional NSW - not in the middle of nowhere - for under $750,000 is possible"

As well, in Sydney, there are still opportunities for people to get a house in that mid-to-high $800s, in the south west of the city, he explains.

Ms Creagh explains that buyers are still managing to overcome significant deposit and affordability challenges in the face of ongoing rental increases.

“It's certainly difficult for first-home buyers at the moment and it's difficult in terms of accumulating enough savings for a deposit – that deposit hurdle is the most significant in homeownership.”

Upward pressure on rental prices is likely to continue but were unlikely to match the pace seen during the past few years, according to Ms Creagh.

“Rental markets are still pretty tight despite vacancies having eased slightly over the past couple of months, so those with the means may find that they value the security of owning their own home,” she says.

“Given rents keep increasing and conditions are challenging and it's hard to find an available rent, some first-time buyers could opt to enter the market to buy.”

In the current Sydney rental market, anyone getting much change from $900 a week rent for a standard house would be lucky, says Mr Allan.

They may be surprised to learn that mortgage payments on their own home may not be much different – and they’ll be securing their own financial future, rather than giving money to a landlord.

“If you're a relatively young, and you're a couple both working - your rent is probably not going to be that much dearer.

“Especially,” he adds, “when you are not paying stamp duty, or discounted stamp duty, as a first-home buyer.”

“You can get in with as low as a 5% deposit as a first-home buyer and you know that no one's ever going to turf you out.”

Not only will these buyers get the homes they want, but they'll also benefit from lower living costs than they’d be paying in an older rental home.

Modern homes built to today's sustainability standards are much cheaper to run than older inefficient homes, resulting in significant savings on utilities and maintenance.

Help is at hand for buyers keen to get their foot on the property ladder with the $10,000 First Home Owner (New Home) Grant for buyers building or buying a newly built home, as well as stamp duty concessions.

As part of the First Home Buyer Assistance scheme, first home owners do not pay stamp duty on new properties valued up to $800,000, and vacant land valued up to $350,000.

For example, if a buyer is looking at purchasing an $800,000 house and land package, they would need to have saved a minimum of $30,000 to get started on their new home. This amount includes a $10,000 contribution from the government as part of the First Home Owner Grant.

“Domaine Homes’ in-house finance team are specialists in house and land packages” Mr Allan explains, "who can help buyers navigate the process of a loan for building a new home.

For example, there are ways to get the process started while still having the time to save the required deposit, which buyers may not be aware of.

Additionally, buyers who use Domaine Homes’ finance specialists are not required to pay the full 10% deposit upfront and can wait until site works begin.

For the finer details on these First Home Buyer Grants, contact one of our team members today to discover which grants you're eligible for! We're here to guide you through the array of options and support you in making well-informed choices for your new home build!