As the only WA-based bank to be appointed as a lender for the Australian Government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS), P&N Bank has helped over 350 West Australian borrowers achieve their goal of entering the property market since the Scheme launched in February.
The FHLD Scheme removes a number of barriers for those entering the property market by allowing eligible first home buyers to purchase a home with a deposit of as little as 5% without incurring Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).
P&N Bank General Manager, Anna Pearce said P&N’s participation in the Scheme had allowed over 350 customers to purchase their first property.
“The Scheme has removed the usual eligibility barriers that many face when entering the property market, providing an opportunity for more West Australians to buy their first home,” Ms Pearce said.
“With the property market heating up, we have seen an uplift in home loan activity over the past four months, with many first home buyers now able to access the FHLDS alongside the additional state and federal housing incentives launched to provide an economic boost during COVID-19.
“We are seeing approximately 80% of our FHLDS applications being submitted through our broker partners, and we look forward to helping more of them assist their clients purchase their first home as part of the second tranche of the Scheme.
“First home buyers now make up 32% of all new owner-occupied borrowings at P&N, up from an average of 12% since we joined the Scheme in February, which clearly shows the positive impact the FHLDS is having.
“With our broker offering a key part of our new transformative five-year strategy, we are focussed on building further scale to ensure we can fully support the current and future needs of our broker partners and their customers while optimising our involvement in schemes such as the FHLDS.”
P&N Bank customers Brody and Kym Dosek are amongst the hundreds of P&N first home buyers who were able to enter the property market in February this year through the Scheme.
“Our major concern was that we didn’t quite have the 20% deposit. We felt if we tried to reach that we might be really stretching ourselves,” Brody said.
“We knew about the FHLDS before we started looking for a house. With a lower deposit needed and the Lenders Mortgage Insurance taken care of, we knew we would be in a good spot financially if we could apply.
“The FHLDS process was extremely simple and we just had to make sure we met the criteria, which we did. It was all very straight forward.”
With many first home buyers choosing to use a mortgage broker to help them navigate the home loan process, customers can either enquire or access the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme through P&N Bank directly or through their broker.