Up to 1,200 new apartments in Western Australia are set to be unlocked as the Western Australian Government follows New South Wales in underwriting new apartment projects.

The Western Australian Government has announced that it will invest $250 million in the 2026/27 State Budget to create a Pre-sale Guarantee Scheme.

Under the scheme, the government will provide a guarantee to purchase up to 50 percent of unsold homes within eligible new apartment developments upon completion.

This will help to speed up new housing delivery by assisting developers to secure the required number of pre-sales which are needed to meet lender requirements for project finance and to thus move forward with construction.

The scheme will be managed through the state’s Keystart program – a Western Australian Government initiative that helps residents to purchase new homes with a 2 percent deposit through a shared equity scheme.

Under the program, Keystart will provide a guarantee to purchase up to 50 per cent of unsold homes in an apartment development upon completion.

The guarantee will lapse if proponents sell those apartments as construction progresses.

If the guarantee is called, Keystart will purchase the homes at a minimum 10 per cent discount on market value in the metro area and 7.5 per cent in the regions.

The State Government will then make eligible apartments available for Keystart customers through either the $210 million Urban Connect Shared Equity program or through  other State Government housing programs.

To drive housing affordability, developments supported through the scheme will be required to sell at least 30 per cent of homes within the project at prices that are below Keystart’s property price limit – which is pegged to the REIWA median house price for Perth.

Up to $250 million in guarantees will be available through the initiative, which is expected to open for applications in the second half of 2026.

The scheme is based on a broadly similar scheme that was introduced in the 2025/26 budget in New South Wales.

That scheme is credited by the Property Council of Australia as already helving helped to unlock more than 540 homes in that state.

Western Australian Premier Roger Cook welcomed the announcement.

“My government’s vision is to ensure every Western Australian has a home,” he said.

“In this year’s Budget, we are prioritising housing, including unlocking and delivering more land supply, building more homes for Western Australians and helping first home buyers get into the market.

“Our new Pre-sale Guarantee will support even more Western Australians into homeownership through Keystart.”

Enjoying Sourceable articles? Subscribe for Free and receive daily updates of all articles which are published on our site

Want to grow your sales, reach more new clients and expand your client base across Australia’s design and construction sector?

Advertise on Sourceable and have your business seen by the thousands of architects, engineers, builders/construction contractors, subcontractors/trade contractors, property developers and building industry suppliers who read our stories across the civil, commercial and residential construction sector