Advertisement
The Albanese government’s expanded 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers took effect on 1 October 2025.
Over the first quarter of the scheme, mortgage demand from first home buyers spiked. A total of $19.310 billion was lent to first home buyers in the December quarter of 2025, an increase of 16% on the prior quarter and the highest value since the March quarter of 2021.
However, Wednesday’s housing finance data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that the momentum stalled in the March quarter of 2026.
The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers
Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe
About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.