Buying your first home in Victoria: the complete step-by-step guide

Buying your first home in Victoria involves a lot of moving parts, and most of them arrive at once: deposits, pre-approval, stamp duty, grants you might qualify for, and a process that nobody walked you through. This guide puts the whole journey in order, from saving to settlement, and links out to deeper explainers for each step.

It's written for Victorian first-home buyers specifically, because the grants, concessions and rules here are different from other states. If you read one thing before you start looking seriously, make it this.

In this guide

• The first-home buyer checklist the actionable companion
• The First Home Owner Grant in Victoria
• First-home grants across Australia
• The Victorian Homebuyer Fund (shared equity)
• Stamp duty in Victoria
• Lenders mortgage insurance explained
• Getting a mortgage pre-approval
• Buying with a guarantor
• Apartments vs townhouses vs houses
• The property inspection checklist

Step 1: Work out what you can actually afford

Before you fall in love with a listing, get clear on the numbers. Your real budget is set by three things: how much deposit you have, how much a lender will lend you, and the costs on top of the purchase price.

The big cost on top is usually stamp duty, though first-home buyers in Victoria get significant concessions and, under certain thresholds, an exemption. Don't forget conveyancing fees, inspection costs, loan fees, and moving costs. These add up to thousands, and they're easy to leave out of the first sums.

Step 2: Understand your deposit and LMI

The classic target is a 20% deposit, because that's the point at which most lenders stop charging lenders mortgage insurance. LMI is insurance that protects the lender, not you, and it can cost many thousands of dollars when your deposit is smaller.

You don't always need 20%, though. There are a few ways in with less:

• A guarantor. A family member can use equity in their own home to cover the gap. We explain the mechanics and the risks in buying with a guarantor.
• Shared equity. The Victorian Homebuyer Fund lets the government take a share of your property in exchange for a smaller deposit requirement.
• Government guarantee schemes, which let eligible buyers in with a low deposit without paying LMI.

Step 3: Get pre-approval

Pre-approval is a lender's conditional agreement to lend you up to a certain amount. It tells you your real budget and shows sellers you're serious. It's not a guarantee, and it has an expiry, so time it for when you're actually ready to look. We cover what's involved, and the common traps, in getting a mortgage pre-approval.

Step 4: Know which grants and concessions you qualify for

This is where Victorian buyers leave real money on the table. Depending on your situation, the property, and whether it's new or established, you may be eligible for:

• The First Home Owner Grant, generally for new homes.
• First-home buyer stamp duty concessions or exemptions under certain price thresholds, covered in stamp duty in Victoria.
• The Victorian Homebuyer Fund shared-equity scheme.

If you've bought elsewhere before or are comparing, first-home grants across Australia shows how Victoria stacks up.

Step 5: Choose the right kind of property

A house, a townhouse and an apartment come with very different costs, responsibilities and ownership structures. Apartments and many townhouses come with an owners corporation and ongoing fees. We compare the trade-offs in apartments vs townhouses vs houses.

If you're buying with a partner, friend or family member, you'll also need to decide how you hold the title together. That choice has real consequences if circumstances change later, which we cover in tenants in common vs joint tenancy.

Step 6: Inspect properly before you commit

Once you've found a place, do your due diligence before you sign anything. Walk through with the property inspection checklist, and for any serious contender, get a professional building and pest inspection.

Just as importantly, read the Section 32. It discloses the legal and financial facts about the property, and it's where issues like easements, covenants and owners corporation problems show up. This is exactly what Unstated helps with: upload the Section 32 and contract, and we'll summarise it in plain English in about 10 minutes.

Step 7: Make your offer and get to settlement

Whether you buy at auction or by private treaty changes your rights. Buying at auction means no cooling-off period, so all your checks have to be done beforehand. Buying by private treaty usually gives you a cooling-off period. Once you've signed, a conveyancer guides you through to settlement day.

The whole process from offer to settlement is its own topic, and we map it out in our guide to the Victorian buying process and timeline.

How much deposit do you really need as a first-home buyer?

Enough to cover your chosen path plus costs. With a 20% deposit you usually avoid LMI entirely. With less, you can still buy through a guarantor, shared equity, or a low-deposit scheme, but you'll either pay LMI or accept another trade-off. The right answer depends on how much you've saved and how quickly you want to get in, so it's worth modelling a couple of scenarios before you commit.

Are first-home buyer grants worth chasing in Victoria?

Almost always, yes. The stamp duty concessions alone can be worth tens of thousands under the relevant thresholds, which is more than most other savings you can find. The catch is that eligibility rules are specific about price, property type, and whether you live in it, so confirm you actually qualify before you build the savings into your budget.

What to do next

Get your numbers straight, get pre-approved, confirm which grants you qualify for, and start inspecting properly. When you've got a place in your sights, read its Section 32 before you sign, and lean on a conveyancer for the legal side. Being the best-prepared buyer in the room is the whole game, and it's very achievable.

Sources

• State Revenue Office Victoria: First Home Owner Grant: the $10,000 grant for new homes and who qualifies.
• SRO: First home buyer duty exemption or concession: the stamp duty exemption to $600,000 and the sliding concession to $750,000.
• Housing Australia: First Home Guarantee: the federal low-deposit guarantee scheme.
• Consumer Affairs Victoria: Buying and selling property: the regulator's guidance on the buying process, cooling-off, and settlement.

Sources verified 25 July 2026. Grants, concessions, and thresholds change with government budgets; confirm current eligibility with the authority above or a licensed conveyancer.