Category: Home buying
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Help to Buy eligibility, explained
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If you’ve ever looked at house prices and thought, “I’ll never save a 20% deposit,” you’re not alone. For many Australians, especially women and lower-income earners, saving a deposit is the biggest obstacle standing between them and home ownership. That’s exactly who Help to Buy was designed for. The government’s shared equity scheme allows eligible buyers to purchase a home with a deposit…
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How to save for a house deposit faster
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5% deposit scheme, best way to save a house deposit solo, Family Home Guarantee single parent, FHSSS eligibility, First Home Buyer Guarantee, First Home Super Saver Scheme, Grants and subsidies, Help to Buy, high interest savings account Australia Family Home Guarantee single parent, Home buying strategies, how long does it take to save a house deposit Australia, how much deposit do I need for a house in Australia, how to save for a house deposit during recession Australia, how to save for a house deposit faster Australia, save for a home depositSaving a deposit can feel like the hardest part of buying your first home. The good news is it’s probably a smaller number than you think, especially once you factor in the government schemes available. The trade-off is that these schemes come with conditions, caps and a bit of fine print, so it’s worth going in with eyes open. Here are some simple ways you…
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Borrowing from parents to buy a home: the simple guide
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Thinking about asking your parents for help with a deposit? It’s more common than you think. 60% of first home buyers are getting some kind of financial help from family, with the average amount being around $74,000. The so-called Bank of Mum and Dad is now one of the biggest sources of home loan funding in the country. Some estimates put its total contribution at between $22 billion and $71 billion a year, and…
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Am I too old to get a home loan? Why Australians are buying their first home later than ever
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Picture the “typical” first home buyer and you probably imagine someone in their mid to late twenties, maybe fresh off a few years of share housing, finally ready to sign a contract. That picture is out of date. These days, the average first home buyer in Australia is in their mid-thirties, and it’s becoming increasingly…
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Can I still use super to buy a home in Australia?
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5% deposit scheme, can I use my super to buy a home, FHSSS eligibility, financial tips first home buyer Australia 2026, First Home Buyer Guarantee, first home buyer schemes, First Home Super Saver Scheme, Grants and subsidies, Help to Buy, self managed super fund property rules, using superannuation to buy a house AustraliaTrying to save a house deposit in Australia right now is hard enough without also having to untangle superannuation rules. So let’s clear something up straight away, because it trips a lot of people up. There are two very different things that fall under the banner of “using your super to buy a home.” One is a genuine, government-backed way for everyday…
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Planning to buy your first home next financial year?
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first home buyer, First Home Buyer Checklist Australia, first home buyer end of financial year , first home buyer savings tips 2026, first home buyer schemes, First Home Super Saver Scheme, Grants and subsidies, Home buying, How to buy your first home, how to prepare to buy a home Australia, mortgage broker Australia, what taxes you need to pay when buying a homeHere’s what you need to be doing now. The new financial year is around the corner. And if you’re planning to buy your first home in the next 12 months, the window between now and 1 July may be one of the most important periods in your entire home buying journey. Not because there’s a deadline you’ll miss if you don’t act. But, because the decisions you make now around your…
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How much deposit do I need to buy a house right now?
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Buying your first home right now feels… confusing. Prices are high. The rules keep changing. And depending on who you ask, it’s either the worst time to buy, or the best time in years. The reality is, the landscape is changing, and first home buyers are in a stronger position than they’ve been in…
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Case study: I have $500,000 in savings. Should I buy a home now or wait?
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There’s a particular kind of comfort that comes from seeing money in the bank. Not “new-car” comfort. Not “holiday” comfort. The deeper kind: I can breathe. I can handle it if something goes wrong. My kids will be okay. For single mum Jackie*, that feeling matters. Jackie lives in New South Wales. She has two…
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The hidden cost of sitting on cash: what women saving for a home need to know
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Many of us grew up hearing the same message about money. Save what you earn. Be careful. Avoid risk. For women especially, saving was often the only financial lesson we were taught. Saving feels safe. Your balance grows. You can see it. You can touch it. It is there when you need it. But if…
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How to stay financially strong and keep your home buying goals on track when the economy feels uncertain
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If you’ve been following the news lately, you’ve probably seen a lot of headlines that aren’t exactly easy reading. Interest rates rising again. Global instability. Economists flagging the possibility of a recession. It’s a lot to take in, especially when you’re working hard toward a goal as significant as buying your first home. The RBA…
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Buying your first home after 40 in Australia: Why more women are entering the property market later
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Buying your first home used to feel like something most Australians would achieve in their twenties or early thirties. Today, that is no longer the reality for many people. At Penny, we’re speaking with more women buying their first home after 40, not because they have “failed financially”, but because the path to home ownership…
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Why it’s crucial to get an independent Building & Pest Inspection
Buying a home is supposed to feel like a step toward safety, stability and a future. That is why it is so devastating when buyers discover hidden damage, structural issues or termites after settlement. These are problems that could have been caught with the right inspection. However, many first-time buyers end up trusting inspectors recommended…
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Home loan pre-approvals are up across Australia. What that means if you’re trying to buy right now
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Pre-approvals are surging. Here’s how to make sure you’re actually ready. Alternative SEO titles: Tags: home loan pre-approval Australia, first home buyer loans 2026, First Home Guarantee scheme Australia, buying first home Australia 2026, mortgage pre-approval tips Australia Keywords: home loan pre-approval Australia 2026, first home buyer pre-approval, how long does pre-approval last Australia, first…
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Let them: redefining what it really means to “have it all” as a woman in today’s world
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This week, an article in The Sydney Morning Herald stopped us in our tracks: “Women fought for equality. Instead, we’re exhausted.” It hit a nerve, not because it said anything new, but because it said what so many women already feel. The conversation around “having it all” keeps coming back, and almost always, it’s directed…
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Buying your first home in Australia: how to make smart, confident decisions in a shifting market
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What Women Need to Know The federal government’s expanded First Home Buyer Guarantee (FHBG) is designed to make it easier for Australians to step onto the property ladder. The scheme allows eligible buyers to purchase with a smaller deposit (sometimes as low as 5%) without paying lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). But there’s a catch: more…
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Why Australian women are redefining the rules of money and property
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financial confidence, financial independence women Australia 2026, Financial literacy, financial stereotypes women money, Financial wellbeing, first home buyer, gender wealth gap Australia, how to prepare to buy a home Australia, Money Mindset, Money Myths, women buying property Australia, women first home buyers AustraliaFor too long, women have been framed as financially irrational. Pop culture jokes about “girl math” or labels us as emotional spenders who need help managing money, while men are celebrated as savvy investors, confident savers, and natural wealth-builders. But these stereotypes don’t just misrepresent reality, they hold women back. The truth is, women are…
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When property listings lie: how to avoid the pitfalls of underquoting and misleading price guides
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You see the listing. $750,000. You feel a flicker of hope. Maybe this time. Maybe this one. Then it sells for $951,000. Welcome to the “Mirage Economy”, where price guides are bait, auctions are a blood sport, and disappointment is all too common. Why lowball price tags hurt more than your wallet It’s not just…
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How partnerships help women navigate homeownership
Sharing the knowledge with outsource Financial At Penny, we believe that financial empowerment is about more than tools. It’s about access to knowledge, mentorship, and trusted expertise. That’s why our partnership with organisations like outsource Financial is so important. Recently, we kicked off the first part of our #SharetheKnowledge campaign, featuring four incredible women from…
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Share the knowledge with Priya Sood
Supporting women with clarity, care, and confidence Buying your first home is more than just securing a loan it’s about building stability, confidence, and a life that reflects your values. But for many first-time buyers, the journey can be overwhelming, especially in a space that hasn’t always put women’s needs first. As part of Penny’s…
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Share the knowledge: meet Helena Wang
Empowering women with expert home loan guidance At Penny, we believe that when knowledge is shared, confidence follows. That’s why we’ve partnered with outsource Financial, connecting you with brokers like Helena Wang – experts in their field and aligned with our mission to make home buying more transparent, inclusive, and empowering. Meet Helena Wang With…
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Share the knowledge with Mia van Baar
Building financial confidence through strategy, clarity, and connection At Penny, we believe that when knowledge is shared, confidence follows. Through our partnership with outsource Financial, we’re excited to feature mortgage brokers like Mia van Baar: strategic leaders who are changing the way women approach lending, wealth, and financial empowerment. From service to strategy: Mia’s journey…
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Buying property with a friend, partner or relative: how more Australian women are getting on the ladder together
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Going it alone in the Australian property market right now is genuinely hard. We know it, you know it, the data knows it. So it’s not surprising that more women are looking at each other and thinking, what if we just did this together. Co-buying, which is purchasing a property with a friend, partner, sibling,…
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Rentvesting
What it is and why more first-time buyers are doing it With interest rates beginning to ease and confidence slowly returning to the property market, many women are taking a fresh look at their homeownership goals. And with the dream of buying in your ideal suburb still out of reach for many, rentvesting is becoming…
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Election commitments for first-home buyers
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What the Major Parties’ First-Home Buyer Policies mean for women – and how falling rates could help With the federal election on May 3, and speculation the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates on May 20, the home buying landscape in Australia is shifting. For women, particularly those buying property on a single income, returning…