Matthew Calleja pictured with his dog Boof at his home in Craigieburn. Picture: Aaron Francis / Herald Sun

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When Matt Calleja started the hunt for his first home three years ago, the Victorian Homebuyer Fund didn’t exist.

Without the scheme Mr Calleja isn’t convinced he would have ever found a place for him and his blue heeler Boof.

“If I didn’t have that fund there was no buying a house — that would have been out of the picture,” Mr Calleja said.

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“I’d spent three years looking to buy and I missed out on a couple of houses. And it was taking a toll on me mentally and I only got back into it once I had more savings behind me.”

The 29-year-old wound up buying his first home, a three-bedroom house on a 653sq m block, at auction last year — paying the same price he’d tried to offer the vendor ahead of the home going under the hammer.

The home was also under $600,000, so he didn’t have to pay stamp duty. And while the state government bought a solid chunk of his Craigieburn alongside him in return for a stake in any future profits, he hopes one day to buy out their share of it.

Home under construction Picture: istock

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Mr Calleja didn’t want to ask his family for help buying, conscious that buying a home came with risks, and was more comfortable receiving assistance from a government program — though he also worked two jobs, including as an apprentice, to save the money.

Ray White Craigieburn’s Trish Orrico sold the house to Mr Calleja and said she encountered “heaps” of first-home buyers taking advantage of the state’s stamp duty waiver in the area over the years.

“Some are trying to stay under $600,000 for that, but others will stretch if they really want the house,” Ms Orrico said.

Mr Calleja isn’t convinced he would have ever found a place for him and his blue heeler Boof without the scheme. Picture: Aaron Francis

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The agent noted there were fewer instances of buyers approaching her subject to other government schemes, though they were certainly being used in the suburb where a median house costs $635,000.

It comes as expert analysis of first-home buyer assistance schemes to help Victorians has found the top program is out of date and due for a review. Find out why, and how much you could save.

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