{"id":103889,"date":"2025-11-21T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/?p=103889"},"modified":"2025-11-19T17:33:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T06:33:22","slug":"three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/","title":{"rendered":"Three ways to make your first home more affordable"},"content":{"rendered":"

BUILDING a new home in regional Victoria has never been more appealing, with affordable land, growing communities and government incentives designed to help first home buyers get a foot in the door sooner.<\/p>\n

Whether you’re looking to settle by the coast in the Bellarine, embrace city-meets-country living in Ballarat, or enjoy the heritage charm of Bendigo, there are smart ways to make your new home journey more affordable in 2025.<\/p>\n

1. Take advantage of government incentives<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’re a first home buyer, the First Home Owner Grant offers a $10,000 boost towards your build. In regional Victoria, you may also benefit from additional savings on stamp duty and access to land in growing estates. Combined, these incentives can make a big difference in reducing your upfront costs and helping you start sooner.<\/p>\n

Tip:<\/strong> Builders such as Simonds Homes can recommend its partnered lender to help guide you through this process, ensuring you get the most out of the incentives available to you.<\/p>\n

\"\"
If you’re after value and convenience, house and land packages can be one of the smartest ways to save when building new.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. Explore house and land packages<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’re after value and convenience, house and land packages can be one of the smartest ways to save when building new. These packages bundle a professionally designed home with a carefully selected block of land, saving you the time and cost of sourcing them separately.<\/p>\n

With fixed pricing, streamlined approvals and designs tailored to suit local estates, builders like Simonds Homes offer house and land packages that take the guesswork out of building, making it easier to stick to your budget and move into your new home sooner.<\/p>\n

Tip:<\/strong> Browse online or take Simonds’ Home Finder Wizard quiz online to find a package perfectly suited to you.<\/p>\n

3. Lock in your costs early<\/strong><\/p>\n

With build costs and interest rates shifting, one of the smartest moves you can make is locking in your home price early. Many builders, including Simonds, offer fixed-price contracts on house and land packages, meaning the cost of your build is protected from potential price rises during construction.<\/p>\n

This helps you budget with confidence, secure finance more easily and avoid unexpected surprises down the track.<\/p>\n

Tip:<\/strong> Your local New Home Specialist can help you tailor your design to your budget, guiding you on where to spend and where to save.<\/p>\n

Whether you are ready to build or searching for the right package in your area, Simonds can help you take the next step with confidence.<\/p>\n

Head to simonds.com.au<\/a> to explore the house and land packages available across regional Victoria and discover how easy it can be to build smarter.<\/p>\n

\/\/SPONSORED CONTENT<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BUILDING a new home in regional Victoria has never been more appealing, with affordable land, growing communities and government incentives designed to help first home buyers get a foot in the door sooner. Whether you’re looking to settle by the coast in the Bellarine, embrace city-meets-country living in Ballarat, or enjoy the heritage charm of […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":103890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-103889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThree ways to make your first home more affordable - Golden Plains Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover three smart ways first home buyers in Victoria can save on building, from grants to house and land packages.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Three ways to make your first home more affordable - Golden Plains Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover three smart ways first home buyers in Victoria can save on building, from grants to house and land packages.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Golden Plains Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-20T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2025\/11\/Commercial-Edits-Images-14.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Times News Group\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Times News Group\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Times News Group\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795\"},\"headline\":\"Three ways to make your first home more affordable\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-20T17:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":463,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Commercial-Edits-Images-14.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Real Estate\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/\",\"name\":\"Three ways to make your first home more affordable - Golden Plains Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Commercial-Edits-Images-14.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-20T17:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Discover three smart ways first home buyers in Victoria can save on building, from grants to house and land packages.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Commercial-Edits-Images-14.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Commercial-Edits-Images-14.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Simonds offers fixed-price contracts on house and land packages, meaning the cost of your build is protected from potential price rises during construction.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/real-estate\\\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Three ways to make your first home more affordable\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/\",\"name\":\"Golden Plains Times\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Golden Plains Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/GoldenPlainsNew.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/GoldenPlainsNew.png\",\"width\":3208,\"height\":336,\"caption\":\"Golden Plains Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795\",\"name\":\"Times News Group\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/author\\\/warick\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Three ways to make your first home more affordable - Golden Plains Times","description":"Discover three smart ways first home buyers in Victoria can save on building, from grants to house and land packages.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Three ways to make your first home more affordable - Golden Plains Times","og_description":"Discover three smart ways first home buyers in Victoria can save on building, from grants to house and land packages.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/","og_site_name":"Golden Plains Times","article_published_time":"2025-11-20T17:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2025\/11\/Commercial-Edits-Images-14.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Times News Group","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Times News Group","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/"},"author":{"name":"Times News Group","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#\/schema\/person\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795"},"headline":"Three ways to make your first home more affordable","datePublished":"2025-11-20T17:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/"},"wordCount":463,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2025\/11\/Commercial-Edits-Images-14.jpg","articleSection":["Real Estate"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/","name":"Three ways to make your first home more affordable - Golden Plains Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2025\/11\/Commercial-Edits-Images-14.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-20T17:00:00+00:00","description":"Discover three smart ways first home buyers in Victoria can save on building, from grants to house and land packages.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2025\/11\/Commercial-Edits-Images-14.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2025\/11\/Commercial-Edits-Images-14.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Simonds offers fixed-price contracts on house and land packages, meaning the cost of your build is protected from potential price rises during construction."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/real-estate\/three-ways-to-make-your-first-home-more-affordable\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Three ways to make your first home more affordable"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/","name":"Golden Plains Times","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#organization","name":"Golden Plains Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2020\/12\/GoldenPlainsNew.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2020\/12\/GoldenPlainsNew.png","width":3208,"height":336,"caption":"Golden Plains Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#\/schema\/person\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795","name":"Times News Group","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/author\/warick\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103889"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=103889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}