Are you currently renting, and saving for that elusive deposit for your own dream home? You might be closer than you think. The Global Financial Crisis of 2009 saw a temporary tightening of the lending criteria by most banks, and generally speaking, they required a higher minimum deposit to lend to borrowers. This had a negative impact on many first home buyers, who saw their plans to buy slip just out of reach.

However, there’s good news! The banks are returning to their earlier, more flexible approach, and will now lend up to 97% of the value of a home.

This has meant that I’ve been able to help several first home buyers into their first dream home in the past few months—people that had approached the bank twelve months ago and been told this goal was still a long way away.

Here’s a guide to the minimum deposit you’ll need to break into the property market:

Property Value	Minimum Deposit
$400,000	$12,000
$500,000	$15,000
$600,000	$18,000
$700,000	$21,000

Plus, the first home buyer’s grant is still in place to help boost your deposit – but only for the remainder of 2011 in many cases. So if you are a first home buyer thinking of getting into the property market, be quick!

If you’re keen to buy your first home, contact us and we can advise you on how you can do it — it may be closer than you think!