Melbourne first-home buyers rush for pre-approval surge

First-home buyer Lilly Mackay has joined a new wave of young Melburnians rushing for pre-approval, with Loan Market Group figures showing finance approvals are up to sixfold in parts of the city this spring.

The 29-year-old marketing professional secured her first pre-approval last week after months of saving and a tense wait with her bank.
“I’ve kind of been searching for about a year, pretty casually at first,” Ms Mackay said.

“But since the Home Guarantee Scheme came in on October 1, things have been moving fast. It took more than a week for my pre-approval to come through, so when it did, it was such a good feeling.”