The federal government's First Home Loan Deposit Scheme has been a hot topic in recent weeks, with both Labor and Coalition governments vowing to expand the program to help more home owners into the market.
But new data from property research firm CoreLogic shows it's slim pickings for Canberrans looking to take up the scheme.
Under the current $500,000 purchase threshold for the ACT region, only 10.7 per cent of homes qualify.
The scheme enables first home buyers to take out a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent deposit, without paying lenders mortgage insurance.
Buyers can save for a deposit as small as 5 per cent and the government will guarantee the remainder of the loan.
The purchase thresholds vary by state and region. In the ACT, the property can not exceed $500,000, while in Sydney the threshold is $800,000.
In Canberra, the current median house price is $1,031,410, while the median unit price is now $602,475.
The portion of eligible properties is the lowest in the ACT sitting behind Sydney where 23.4 per cent of homes qualify, Melbourne (30.8 per cent) and Brisbane (41.2 per cent).
Eliza Owen, head of research at CoreLogic Australia, said varying stock availability is one of the cons of the program.
"A decline in home values would increase the number of properties available under the FHLDS, however Australia's rapidly changing and diverse housing market means stock availability varies widely by region," she wrote in the latest CoreLogic property pulse.
The scheme has been criticised as "band-aid approach" to fixing Australia's housing crisis as it increases demand and fails to address supply. Ultimately, it could increase prices further in each of the price thresholds, Ms Owen writes.
"Expanding the FHLDS could increase first homebuyer numbers at a time when the housing market outlook is uncertain," she said.
"Alternatively this could increase demand for more affordable properties, increasing prices in this segment."
In the current financial year, the government made 10,000 places available in the scheme.
Last week, Labor pledged to assist an extra 10,000 first home buyers a year, if elected in May, by expanding the scheme to regional buyers. Labor also proposed a First Home Buyer Support Scheme with 10,000 places with the price threshold to be reviewed every six months.
In last night's budget, the Coalition followed suit and committed to an extra 10,000 places for regional buyers, however it would expand eligibility to non-first home buyers and limit purchases to new homes only.
The Coalition also announced it would also increase the existing scheme to 35,000 places per financial year.
Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said buyer competition may increase as more spots in the scheme become available.
"While price growth is calming, investor activity has skyrocketed - investors and first home buyers typically compete for the same sorts of properties at similar price points," she said.
"Even though it is unlikely that the scheme will lead to a rebound in pricing overall, it is possible that competition for properties at the price points at which the scheme is available will become more intense."
There is also concern first home buyers accessing government-backed schemes are at risk of sliding into negative equity if property price falls become a reality next year.
Despite this, Ms Owen said first home owners should probably not be worried if they plan to hold onto their property.
"The risk of negative equity is mitigated by the fact that owner-occupiers hold their properties for long periods of time, and Australia's labour market is at its strongest level in 50 years," she said.
"CoreLogic's resale analysis shows owner-occupiers have a median hold period of around nine years."
