First home buyers are flooding into the property market amid fears they'll soon miss their chance.
But despite soaring prices, demand is shifting back from the regions into Melbourne's inner-city suburbs.
Sophie Puika is doing a final check before moving into her first home this week.
The 25-year-old secured the keys to a one-bedroom in Hawthorn before prices slip out of reach.
"I can definitely breathe a sigh of relief," Ms Puika said.
She said the process was "pretty daunting" but once she found the property she was interested in "everything moved really quickly".
Research shows more first home buyers like Ms Puika are diving into the market.
NAB has reported a 67 per cent national jump in loans for the group, with April going down as the biggest month ever.
NAB Executive for Home Ownership Andy Kerr said buyers in Victoria are back.
"It's a bounce-back story for Victoria in 2021," Mr Kerr said.
Mount Waverley saw the biggest jump in demand from first home buyers. That's up 180 per cent, compared with the same period last year.
Richmond, Croydon and Berwick all rose more than 140 per cent.
Wollert, Glen Waverley, St Albans and Glenroy have also proved popular with first home buyers.
"The combination of low interest rates and government incentives really helped give first home buyers a leg up," Mr Kerr said. But so is family support.
"We're seeing parents come to the fore more and more, to the point where we're now having that as a standard question in our interview with first home buyers," Director of 40 Finance Will Unkles said.
While another 10,000 government supported loans become available on July 1, mortgage brokers expect family loans and rent-free living to become even more widespread.
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