How Victorian first-home buyers are skipping mortgages

A vast gap between Victorian first-home buyer loans and first-home buyer tax cuts comes with a range of explanations, but one stands out: they’re paying cash. Victorian first-home buyers are skipping the mortgage and getting their foot on the property ladder with cash purchases in surprising numbers. But even if they’re not struggling with a home loan, often thanks to generous parents including some based overseas, they’re still claiming tens of thousands of dollars in stamp duty discounts. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Victorian State Revenue Office have revealed that in the 2025 financial year there were 42,208 concessions issued for first-home buyers — but only 38,645 first-home buyer loans recorded with the ABS. RELATED: Victorian first-home buyers forced to repay millions in grants and tax Tax-dodging investors slugged with millions in fines for empty homes ‘You can’t’: Couple’s Block move stuns Cam It works out to 3563 more concessions than first-home buyer loans. In the 2024 financial year there was a 4893 surplus of concessions to loans. And the trend of thousands more concessions than loans goes all the way back to the 2018 financial year, with a...