Buying a House in Perth 2026: $0 Stamp Duty Under $500K + $10K WA FHOG + Keystart 2% Deposit (Full Guide)

If you're trying to buy your first home in Perth, you've picked the right city. Perth is the most doable mainland capital for a first home, and it has one advantage the eastern states simply don't: Keystart, a WA Government home loan that lets you in with a 2% deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance. This guide walks through what it actually costs to buy a house in Perth in 2026, the grants, the deposit, stamp duty, the buying process, and the suburbs first home buyers are still finding value in.

Everything below is current as of 4 July 2026. The WA 2026-27 Housing Taxation Package (announced in the 7 May 2026 state Budget) will lift the stamp duty and grant thresholds, but it hasn't commenced yet, it's expected to take effect from around 28 July 2026, and we flag below what applies right now versus what's coming, so you know exactly where you stand.

Perth Property Market in 2026

Perth has had a strong run, and prices have moved a long way from where they were a few years ago. Here's roughly where the market sits now.

Median prices last verified 4 July 2026 (REIWA Perth Metro, 12 months to June 2026). Always sense-check against current listings before you make a decision.

For context, Sydney's median house price is still well over a million dollars and Melbourne sits in the high $900,000s. Perth at around $935,000 is no longer half of Sydney, that was true a couple of years ago, and it isn't now. What's still true is that Perth is the most affordable mainland mid-size capital, and the only one where you can realistically get in with a 2% deposit through Keystart. That's the real edge, and it matters more than any league table of median prices.

Homes in the popular first-home suburbs still sell quickly, so getting pre-approval sorted before you start going to home opens isn't optional. It's the thing that lets you actually make an offer when you find the right place.

What Salary Do You Need to Buy a House in Perth?

There's no single number, and anyone who gives you one is guessing. What you can borrow depends on your deposit, your other debts (car loans, HECS, credit cards), the interest rate at the time, and how many people are on the loan. Two people on the same salary can have very different borrowing power.

As a rough orientation: a couple buying a Perth house in the $700,000s usually needs a combined income somewhere in the six figures once you account for the deposit and the loan they'd have to service. A single buyer aiming at a unit or a cheaper outer suburb needs less. But the honest answer is that the salary question is really a borrowing-power question, and that's something you can work out in about a minute.

Use our borrowing power calculator to see a real figure based on your income, debts and deposit, rather than a generic rule of thumb. If you're buying with less than a 20% deposit, the LMI calculator shows what lenders mortgage insurance would add (and Keystart skips it entirely). And the eligibility checker tells you which grants you can stack on top.

Perth First Home Buyer Grants and Schemes (2026)

Western Australia has one of the most generous first home buyer stacks in the country. Here's everything available to you, and who qualifies. To get the WA grants you generally need to be 18 or over, an Australian citizen or permanent resident, buying your first home, and planning to live in it (not rent it out) for at least the first six to twelve months.

First Home Owner Grant (FHOG), $10,000 in WA

The First Home Owner Grant is a one-off $10,000 payment for first home buyers who buy or build a new home in WA. It doesn't apply to established homes. It's specifically there to encourage new construction, so it covers new builds, house-and-land packages and substantially renovated homes. You can put the $10,000 straight towards your deposit.

The property has to be valued under $750,000 (south of the 26th parallel, which covers Perth). The WA 2026-27 Housing Taxation Package announced in the 7 May 2026 Budget lifts this cap to $800,000, but that change commences with the rest of the package, expected from around 28 July 2026, so until then the $750,000 limit applies. RevenueWA reassesses eligible contracts dated on or after 7 May 2026 once the package commences.

Home Buyers Assistance Account, up to $2,000

This one gets missed constantly, and it's free money. The Home Buyers Assistance Account, run by Consumer Protection WA, reimburses up to $2,000 of the incidental costs of your first purchase, things like mortgage registration, conveyancing or solicitor fees, valuation and inspection fees, and lender establishment fees.

The main conditions are that you bought through a licensed WA real estate agent, the home was already established or at least partly built when you signed, it's financed through a lending institution, and you'll live in it as your home for at least the first twelve months. It's administered by the Department of Finance, and your settlement agent can usually point you to the form. Worth checking the current eligibility details on wa.gov.au, but for most first home buyers it's a straightforward couple of grand back.

Keystart, Perth's biggest advantage (2% deposit, no LMI)

This is the one that makes Perth genuinely different. Keystart is a WA Government home loan that lets you buy with just a 2% deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance. On a $600,000 property that's a $12,000 deposit, instead of the $30,000 to $120,000 a bank would want, and you skip the $15,000 to $30,000 LMI bill on top.

The interest rate is higher than a sharp bank loan (around 7.85% at last check, versus high-6s on competitive bank loans, re-check both before you commit), but for the first few years the LMI savings and the lack of fees often make Keystart cheaper overall. Most borrowers refinance to a bank once they've built up some equity. No other state has anything like it, which is exactly why we tell every Perth first home buyer to check Keystart eligibility before they do anything else.

Keystart income and price limits

For Perth Metro, the income limits are $155,000 for singles and $228,000 for couples and families, and the property price cap is $860,000 (current as of April 2026). Those income limits are generous, a lot of dual-income households assume they earn too much for a government scheme and never check. If you're within the caps, it's worth a proper look.

Our full Keystart home loans guide walks through eligibility, the rate, and when it makes sense to refinance out.

First Home Guarantee (5% Deposit Scheme)

The federal First Home Guarantee, often called the 5% Deposit Scheme, lets you buy with a 5% deposit and no LMI, with the government guaranteeing the rest so the bank doesn't charge insurance. Since 1 October 2025 there are no income caps and unlimited places, which removed the old "all the spots are gone" problem. The Perth property price cap is $850,000. It's a strong option if your income sits above the Keystart limits but you still don't have a big deposit.

Help to Buy (shared equity)

Help to Buy is the federal shared-equity scheme, and interest in it has climbed sharply. The government takes an ownership share, up to 30% of an existing home or 40% of a new build, so you only need a 2% deposit, and you buy back the government's share over time when you can. The income caps are $103,000 for singles and $165,000 for joint applicants and single parents from 1 July 2026 (they are indexed each 1 July), and in Perth the property price cap is $850,000.

The trade-off is that you don't own the whole home, and you share some of the capital growth with the government until you buy them out. For some buyers that's a fair deal to get in years earlier; for others, Keystart's full ownership wins. See our grants overview to compare them side by side.

New build or established? The trade-off worth knowing

This is a real fork in the road, and most guides skip past it. The $10,000 FHOG only applies to new homes. The stamp duty exemption applies to both new and established homes. So if you buy established, you miss the $10,000 grant but you save the stamp duty and you usually get a bigger, better-located block for the money. Buy new and you collect the $10,000, but you're often further out and paying a premium for the build. There's no automatic winner here, it comes down to the suburb, the block, and whether $10,000 outweighs the location compromise for you.

Stamp Duty for First Home Buyers in WA

WA first home buyers get a break on transfer duty under what the state calls the First Home Owner Rate of Duty. Here's how it works today (4 July 2026), under the thresholds currently in force:

• Up to $500,000, a full exemption. You pay $0 stamp duty.
• $500,000 to $700,000, a concessional (sliding-scale) rate, so you pay something, but well below the standard amount.
• Above $700,000, standard rates apply, the same as any other buyer.

These thresholds cover both new and established homes. What's changing: the WA 2026-27 Housing Taxation Package, announced in the 7 May 2026 state Budget, lifts the full exemption to $600,000 and the concession ceiling to $800,000. That package hasn't commenced yet, it's expected to take effect from around 28 July 2026. Until it commences, RevenueWA assesses first home purchases at the current $500,000 / $700,000 thresholds, then reassesses and refunds eligible buyers whose contracts are dated on or after 7 May 2026 once the new law is in force. So if you buy at, say, $580,000 in June you'll be assessed concessional duty now and reassessed to a full exemption after commencement.

Here's what standard transfer duty looks like at common Perth price points, alongside what a first home buyer pays today (current thresholds).

The exemption is a big deal for buyers under $500,000, you save the entire stamp duty bill, worth up to $17,765. Between $500,000 and $700,000 you pay a reduced concessional rate. Once the announced package commences (expected about 28 July 2026) the full exemption lifts to $600,000, and eligible buyers from 7 May 2026 onward are reassessed and refunded. For exact figures at your specific price, the calculator does the arithmetic for you.

Calculate your exact WA stamp duty → Free calculator

WA off-the-plan stamp duty concession

If you're buying off-the-plan in WA, a strata or community-title apartment, or one bought before construction finishes, there's a separate, generous concession on top of the first home buyer break. And it's just been made much better.

You pay no stamp duty on off-the-plan dwellings up to $800,000, with the concession then tapering to 50% above $900,000. It applies to contracts entered from 12 March 2026, it's been extended through to 30 June 2028, and it's not restricted to first home buyers. The 2026 changes also widened it to cover new survey-strata and community-title homes, which brings a lot of duplexes and smaller developments in for the first time. On an $800,000 off-the-plan apartment, the government's own example puts the saving at more than $32,300.

To claim it, your settlement agent lodges the concession application with the standard transfer paperwork. With the deadline now well into 2028, there's no rush-to-beat-the-clock pressure anymore, you can buy on its merits.

What It Actually Costs Upfront in Perth

The deposit is the big one, but it's not the only cash you need at the start. These are the other upfront costs first home buyers in Perth run into. Treat every figure as an approximate range, they vary by property, lender and provider.

Remember the Home Buyers Assistance Account can claw back up to $2,000 of these. To line up the people who handle this part, see find a conveyancer (in WA they're called settlement agents) and find a building inspector.

How Much Deposit You Need in Perth

Perth gives you more low-deposit pathways than any other capital, almost entirely because of Keystart. Here's what the deposit looks like across the options.

Stack Keystart's 2% with the $10,000 FHOG on a new build and the savings you need can come down to a few thousand dollars. There's no other city in the country where the entry point gets that low.

Our deposit tracker shows how close you are to your target, and the borrowing power calculator ties it to what you can actually borrow. For a deeper Perth-specific breakdown, see how much deposit you need to buy a house in Perth.

The Perth Buying Process, Step by Step

Buying in Perth works differently from the eastern states in one important way: it's overwhelmingly a private treaty (Offer and Acceptance) market, not an auction one like Melbourne. Here's how it runs.

1. Work out what you can afford. Run the borrowing power calculator and check your Keystart eligibility.
2. Get pre-approved. This sets your budget and tells sellers you're serious. See our pre-approval guide. A broker can line this up for you.
3. Pick your suburb and start looking. Go to home opens (Perth's version of open inspections) and watch realestate.com.au and Domain.
4. Make an offer. In WA this is done on an Offer and Acceptance (O&A) form. You can, and should, write in conditions like "subject to finance" and "subject to building inspection".
5. Building and pest inspection. Essential, especially on older Perth homes. Budget around $400 to $600 for a combined report.
6. Finance approval. Your lender (or Keystart) issues formal approval after valuing the property.
7. Get building insurance. You need it from the date of the contract, not settlement. Don't leave it.
8. Settlement. Your settlement agent handles the legal transfer, typically 30 to 42 days in WA. Then you get the keys.

One thing to be clear on: WA private-treaty sales have no cooling-off period. Once you sign an unconditional Offer and Acceptance, you're committed. That's not a trap, but it does mean your conditions are your protection, the "subject to finance" and "subject to inspection" clauses you write into the O&A are what let you walk away if something goes wrong. Write them properly and you've got real safeguards. Skip them and you don't. Our cooling-off periods by state guide covers the WA rules in full.

Rates are part of the picture too. The RBA cash rate is 4.35%, held at the June 2026 meeting after three rises earlier in the year (February, March and the May increase that took effect 6 May 2026). It's still worth checking where the rate sits before you lock anything in.

Best Suburbs for First Home Buyers in Perth

Perth sprawls, which is good news for first home buyers, there's a wide range of price points depending on how far from the CBD you're willing to live. A fair warning on the numbers below: with the metro median now around $935,000, suburb medians move fast, and the ranges here are a starting point, not gospel. Pull current REIWA figures for any suburb before you commit.

The more affordable end

Butler, up at the end of the Joondalup line about 40km north, has long been one of the cheaper foothold suburbs, newer builds, close to Burns Beach and Yanchep for the weekends, and a popular house-and-land area. Armadale, 30km southeast on its own train line, is another genuine entry point and a Keystart favourite, though the older housing stock means a building inspection is non-negotiable. Midland (20km northeast) has been quietly transformed by the health campus and station upgrades, and you get real proximity to the CBD for the price.

Further out, Baldivis and Ellenbrook are the classic young-family new-build suburbs, modern homes, good schools, and in Ellenbrook's case a train line that has genuinely changed the commute.

The mid-range

Rockingham, about 45km south on the coast, gives you a beach lifestyle for a fraction of what the northern beaches cost. Mandurah is further again at 70km, but the train gets you to the city in under an hour, and the coastal living down there is a real draw for first home buyers and downsizers alike. Closer in, Wanneroo (25km north) and the units around Joondalup, a proper regional centre with a uni, hospital and train station, offer a solid middle ground between price and location.

Stretch suburbs

Scarborough (15km northwest) puts you beachside near the redeveloped foreshore, and works for dual-income households. Canning Vale is a well-established family suburb with strong school catchments and easy freeway access. These sit at the top of most first-home budgets, but if you're buying with a partner and both earning, they're not out of reach.

If you're hunting the cheapest suburbs to buy in Perth, the northern Joondalup-line tail (Butler and beyond) and the southeast corridor (Armadale, Byford) are where first home buyers keep finding the most house for the money.

Perth vs Other Capital Cities

How does Perth stack up against the other capitals for a first home buyer? The headline is the deposit, not the median.

Every state runs its own grants, thresholds and rules, and they change often, so rather than freeze figures that go stale, check the dedicated guide for whichever city you're weighing up:

• Buying a house in Sydney 2026, NSW stamp duty thresholds, Western Sydney corridors, competing against investors
• Buying a house in Melbourne 2026, auction strategy, Section 32 contracts, the 3-day cooling-off window
• Buying a house in Brisbane 2026, the QLD FHOG, 2032 Olympics infrastructure, flood overlay checks
• Buying a house in Adelaide 2026, SA HomeStart Finance, the lowest mainland capital prices, AUKUS jobs
• Buying a house in Canberra 2026, the ACT Home Buyer Concession and 99-year leasehold land

Should You Buy or Keep Renting in Perth?

Perth's rental market is tight, and rents have climbed, so for a lot of people the gap between rent and a mortgage repayment is smaller than it used to be. But "smaller" isn't the same as "buying always wins", and we're not going to pretend it is.

On a like-for-like basis, a mortgage usually costs more per month than rent, especially in the first few years. What you get for that extra outlay is equity, you're paying down something you own instead of paying off a landlord's loan, and the chance of capital growth. The honest caveat is that Perth has already run hard, so the strong year-on-year growth of the recent past is not something anyone can promise will continue. Prices can flatten or fall.

So the real question isn't "does the maths favour buying", it's whether buying suits your situation: how secure your income is, how long you plan to stay, whether you've got the deposit and the buffer for rate moves. If you do, Perth's low entry point through Keystart makes getting in genuinely achievable. If you're not sure, the mortgage repayment calculator will show you the monthly number to weigh against your rent.

Common Mistakes When Buying in Perth

These are the ones we see Perth first home buyers trip over most.

1. Not checking Keystart first. If you qualify, Keystart can save you $15,000 to $30,000 in LMI alone. Plenty of buyers go straight to a bank without realising they could get in on a 2% deposit that exists nowhere else in the country.

2. Skipping the building inspection on an older home. Perth has a lot of 1960s-to-80s housing in the established suburbs. Asbestos, termites and structural issues are common enough that a few hundred dollars on an inspection can save you tens of thousands. Never waive it to win a deal.

3. Forgetting strata fees. On a unit, villa or townhouse, strata can run $500 to $1,500 a quarter, and it eats directly into your borrowing power. Ask for the strata report before you offer.

4. Buying far out without costing the commute. A house in Butler or Mandurah might be a lot cheaper than one closer in, but if you're driving to the CBD five days a week, the fuel and the hours add up fast. Put a real annual number on it before you decide the saving is worth it.

5. Making offers without pre-approval. Perth's good suburbs move quickly. Without pre-approval in hand, you'll lose the home you love to a buyer who has theirs.

Where to start

If you take one thing from this guide: check your Keystart eligibility before anything else, because the 2% deposit is the WA advantage the rest of the country doesn't have. From there, the eligibility checker maps out which grants you can stack, the borrowing power calculator tells you the number, and your journey lays out the whole path from "what can I afford" to keys in hand. It's all free, and we're on your side of the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it worth buying a house in Perth?

For most first home buyers, yes. The median house price is around $935,000 (12 months to June 2026, REIWA), which is higher than it used to be but still the most affordable of the larger mainland capitals, and Perth is the only city where you can buy with a 2% deposit through Keystart, with no lenders mortgage insurance. Add the $10,000 First Home Owner Grant on new builds and the stamp duty exemption, and the entry point is genuinely lower than anywhere else in Australia.

How much do I need to buy a house in Perth?

Less than most people think. With Keystart you need just a 2% deposit, about $12,000 on a $600,000 home, with no LMI. With the First Home Guarantee it's 5%, around $30,000. On a new build, the $10,000 FHOG can go towards your deposit, which can cut your out-of-pocket savings to a few thousand dollars. Use our borrowing power calculator to see your real number.

What is the average house price in Perth in 2026?

The median house price is around $935,000 (12 months to June 2026, REIWA), and the median unit is around $672,000. There's huge variation by suburb, the more affordable northern and southeastern corridors sit well below the metro median, while beachside and inner suburbs run well above it. Always check current REIWA figures for the specific suburb you're looking at.

Can I buy a house in Perth with no deposit?

Not quite zero, but close. Keystart needs only a 2% deposit, and part of that can be a gift from family. On a new build, the $10,000 FHOG can cover much of it. Stamp duty also helps: a first home under $500,000 is currently fully exempt, with concessional duty up to $700,000 (these thresholds lift to $600,000/$800,000 once the announced WA 2026-27 Housing Taxation Package commences, expected from around 28 July 2026). Stack those and a first home buyer's own savings can come down to just a few thousand dollars.

Is it better to buy a house or a unit in Perth?

It depends on your budget and plans. Houses have historically delivered stronger capital growth in Perth, especially in growing outer suburbs where land appreciates. Units offer a much lower entry price, around $672,000 versus $935,000 for houses, and can put you in a better-located suburb closer to the city, beach or train. A well-placed unit can outperform a house in a weaker distant suburb. A broker can model both over five to ten years.

What salary do you need to buy a house in Perth?

There's no single figure, it depends on your deposit, your other debts, the interest rate and how many people are on the loan. A couple buying in the $700,000s usually needs a combined six-figure income; a single buyer aiming at a unit or a cheaper outer suburb needs less. The salary question is really a borrowing-power question, so run our borrowing power calculator for a number that fits your situation.

Do first home buyers pay stamp duty on a $600,000 home in Perth?

Today, yes, but only a reduced concessional amount. Under the thresholds currently in force, the full first home buyer exemption runs to $500,000, with a sliding concessional rate from $500,000 to $700,000, so a $600,000 home attracts roughly $13,630 in concessional duty rather than $0. The WA 2026-27 Housing Taxation Package announced in the 7 May 2026 Budget lifts the full exemption to $600,000 (and the concession ceiling to $800,000), which would make a $600,000 first home fully exempt, but that package hasn't commenced yet. It's expected to take effect from around 28 July 2026, and RevenueWA will reassess and refund eligible contracts dated on or after 7 May 2026 once it does. These thresholds cover both new and established homes.

Is there a cooling-off period in WA?

No. WA private-treaty (Offer and Acceptance) sales have no statutory cooling-off period, once you sign an unconditional contract, you're committed. Your protection comes from the conditions you write into the Offer and Acceptance, such as "subject to finance" and "subject to building inspection", which let you withdraw if those conditions aren't met. Make sure they're in there before you sign.

Has the WA off-the-plan stamp duty concession been extended?

Yes. It's been extended to 30 June 2028, with 100% relief (no duty) on off-the-plan dwellings up to $800,000, tapering to 50% above $900,000. It applies to contracts from 12 March 2026, it's not restricted to first home buyers, and it now covers new survey-strata and community-title homes. On an $800,000 purchase the government's example puts the saving at over $32,300.