First Home Buyer Guide NSW: Grants, Stamp Duty & Schemes (2026)

For most NSW first home buyers the stamp duty exemption, not the grant, is the bigger saving. Know which help your price qualifies for and plan well under the caps, so your own numbers set the limits of your search.

First Home Owner Grant NSW

NSW offers a $10,000 First Home Owner Grant for eligible first home buyers purchasing or building a new home. The grant is funded by the NSW Government and administered by Revenue NSW.

Eligibility requirements

• At least one applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• All applicants must be individuals (not companies or trusts)
• All applicants must be at least 18 years old at the date of the transaction
• None of the applicants can have previously owned residential property in Australia
• At least one applicant must occupy the property for at least 12 continuous months within 12 months of settlement

Eligible properties

• New homes (never previously occupied or sold), purchase price $600,000 or less
• Substantially renovated homes, purchase price $600,000 or less
• Vacant land plus a building contract, or an owner-builder home: land and build together $750,000 or less
• Established homes do not qualify for the NSW FHOG

Caps from Revenue NSW: First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant, checked 14 October 2026.

How and when the grant is paid

For purchases, the grant is typically paid at settlement through your lender. For owner-builders, it’s paid when an occupancy certificate is issued. Apply through Revenue NSW (online at revenue.nsw.gov.au) or via your lender.

Stamp duty exemption and concession

Under the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, NSW gives first home buyers stamp duty relief on new and established homes alike. These thresholds apply to contracts exchanged from 1 July 2023; before that the exemption stopped at $650,000.

On a $750,000 home, an eligible first home buyer in NSW pays $0 in stamp duty, where any other buyer pays $27,937. At $900,000 a first home buyer pays $19,594 instead of $34,687. Use our Stamp Duty Calculator to estimate your exact saving; it applies the rules for your contract date.

Eligibility for the concession

• The property must be your first home in Australia
• You must intend to occupy it as your principal place of residence within 12 months
• Both new and established homes are eligible (unlike the FHOG, which is new homes only)

First Home Buyer Choice has closed

First Home Buyer Choice, which let first home buyers pay an annual property tax instead of upfront stamp duty, closed to new buyers in 2023. The First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme above is the help that applies now.

Federal schemes available in NSW

• 5% Deposit Scheme (the expanded First Home Guarantee): buy with a 5% deposit and no LMI. Since 1 October 2025 there’s no income test and no limit on places. The price cap is $1,500,000 in Greater Sydney and the regional centres (Central Coast, Coffs Harbour–Grafton, Illawarra, Mid North Coast, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, Richmond–Tweed) and $800,000 in the rest of New South Wales. See our 5% Deposit Scheme guide.
• Single parents and legal guardians (Family Home Guarantee): a 2% deposit, the same price caps and no income test. You don’t have to be a first home buyer, but any other home you own must be sold within 4 weeks of settling.
• Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee: closed. No new guarantees have been issued since 1 October 2025; regional buyers use the 5% Deposit Scheme at their area’s price cap.
• Help to Buy (shared equity): the government contributes up to 40% of a new home or 30% of an existing one, with a 2% minimum deposit and no LMI. For 2026–27 the income limits are $103,000 (single) and $165,000 (joint or single parent). The price cap is $1,300,000 in Sydney and Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, Illawarra, Central Coast, Mid-North Coast, Coffs Harbour–Grafton, Richmond–Tweed and $800,000 elsewhere in the state. It can’t be combined with the 5% Deposit Scheme. See Help to Buy in New South Wales.
• First Home Super Saver scheme (FHSS): save part of your deposit in super with voluntary contributions, up to $15,000 a year and $50,000 in total per person, then withdraw 85% of before-tax contributions and all after-tax ones, plus deemed earnings (7.51% a year for October–December 2026). Salary sacrifice is taxed at 15% going in, and the release at your marginal rate less a 30% offset. There’s no price cap, and it combines with the other schemes. See the FHSS guide or run your numbers in the FHSS calculator.

Federal schemes are available through participating lenders nationwide, including in NSW. See our national First Home Buyer Guide for full federal scheme details.

NSW-specific schemes and resources

• Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper: closed on 30 June 2024. NSW’s shared equity option is now the federal Help to Buy scheme.
• Revenue NSW, First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme: where you apply for the stamp duty exemption or concession, and the FHOG, at revenue.nsw.gov.au.

Median property prices for first home buyers

Sydney remains one of the most expensive markets in Australia. First home buyers typically target:

• Units in middle-ring suburbs: Median around $700,000 to $900,000 (Western Suburbs, Inner West, Northern Beaches units)
• Houses in outer suburbs: Western Sydney suburbs like Campbelltown, Penrith and Blacktown, medians from $750,000 to $950,000
• Regional NSW: Newcastle, Wollongong and the Central Coast, unit medians from $500,000 to $700,000

Use our suburb profiles to research current median prices, rental yields, and market trends in any NSW suburb.

The NSW buying process

NSW has some unique features in its conveyancing process:

• Cooling-off period: 5 business days from exchange (auctions have no cooling-off period)
• Contract of sale: The vendor prepares a contract before listing, which you can review prior to making an offer
• Strata reports: For apartments, your solicitor should review the strata report and financial statements before exchange
• Settlement: Typically 6 weeks after exchange but negotiable; conducted electronically via PEXA

For the full step-by-step process, see Buying Property in Australia.

Key NSW contacts

• Revenue NSW, FHOG, stamp duty concessions, First Home Buyer Assistance Scheme: revenue.nsw.gov.au
• NSW Fair Trading, contracts, conveyancing, consumer rights: fairtrading.nsw.gov.au
• Housing Australia, First Home Guarantee and federal schemes: housingaustralia.gov.au