HomeBuilder grants scheme extended by three months
The HomeBuilder stimulus scheme will be extended by three months, allowing for an extra 15,000 new homes to be built and taking total handouts to $900 million.
NSW
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New home builders or renovators rushing to access a HomeBuilder grant before the end of the year have been given a three-month reprieve under changes to the Morrison government stimulus scheme.
While the value of the grant will decrease from $25,000 to $15,000, the property price caps for new builds in NSW have been increased from $750,000 to $950,000 and in Victoria from $750,000 to $850,000.
And in a move welcomed by industry groups, the government is also extending the construction commencement deadline from three months to six months for all eligible contracts signed on or after June 4.
The government anticipates the extension to March 31 will support the construction or major rebuild of around 15,000 additional homes and ease any bottlenecks in applications.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison also said HomeBuilder, which had been announced as part of the Economy Recovery Plan for Australia, had help to protect the jobs of one million Australians employed in the construction sector.
“It’s critical we keep the momentum up for Australia’s economic recovery,” he said.
“Extending HomeBuilder will mean a steady pipeline of construction activity to keep tradies on the tools.”
Under the existing scheme, owner-occupiers wanting to build a new home, substantially renovate an existing home or buy an off-the-plan home have until December 31 to apply for a grant worth $25,000.
The changes will mean eligible owner-occupier purchasers will receive a $15,000 HomeBuilder grant for all new build contracts signed between January 1 and March 31 next year.
The step down in value of the grant was in response to signs the economy was recovering, while the increase in home price points in NSW and Victoria reflected similar changes in the two states.
For renovators, the cost of works must be valued at between $150,000 and $750,000, with the dwelling valued at not more than $1.5 million before the makeover.
Government figures show the scheme to date is expected to support around 27,000 homes across Australia, with the three-month extension expected to increase the number to 42,000. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said supporting the housing sector was vital because it “is worth $100 billion a year to the Australian economy or around 5 per cent of GDP and more than a million people are employed in the sector across Australia”.
Housing Minister Michael Sukkar said the most recent data showed HomeBuilder was on track to exceed expected take-up levels.
The latest Housing Industry Association new-home sales data showed a 31.6 per cent rise in the three months to October 2020 compared with the same time last year, he said.
“This has been a highly effective program that’s delivering real results for homebuyers and has kept tradies in work throughout the COVID pandemic,” Mr Sukkar said.
“This is a temporary and targeted program and we want to give buyers the confidence and support to enter the market right now at a time when the economy needs it most.”
Introduced in the grip of the pandemic, the total cost of the scheme is expected to finish up at about $921m including the $240.9m cost of the latest extension.
Housing industry groups had been calling on the government to extend the scheme while the construction sector had been wanting the 90-day construction commencement window to be made more flexible.
HIA managing director Graham Wolfe said the extension of HomeBuilder was a step forward for jobs and a step towards a return to pre-COVID levels of home building.
“HIA is pleased the government has directly taken on board our advice to extend HomeBuilder and make some improvements to the operation of the scheme,” he said.
“An extension to HomeBuilder is not only warranted but a necessary measure that will support the Australian economy into 2021 and beyond.”
Bondi builder Nathan Feller, 30, who is renovating a home for a $25,000 grant-applicant in Ashbury, said he had never had a busier year, with work right up to Christmas.
“It’s nuts,” he said. “I’ve never had a finish to a year like this. I’ve got a ridiculous amount of work still coming in. I’m in the middie of a job for a lady who is waiting for her $25,000 grant.”
Originally published as HomeBuilder grants scheme extended by three months
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