Huge demand in Tassie for new home grants

Turnaround times and supply constraints are speeding up the clock on the three month limit on HomeBuilder grants. Find out how you can cash in before it’s too late >>

MORE than 30,000 Australians have signed up for $25,000 grants to renovate or build a new home, including more than 1000 Tasmanians.

Less than three weeks after the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder scheme was launched, demand has already exceeded industry’s hopes to turbocharge Tasmania’s construction sector and keep thousands of tradies in work.

Some medium sized builders have already sold out of house and land packages, Master Builders Tasmania boss Matthew Pollock said.

“We certainly expected the [HomeBuilder] scheme to be popular but I think we can safely say the interest from the community has been extraordinary,” Mr Pollock said.

Tasmania’s $20,000 grant on top of the $25,000 federal grant was one of the “most generous” packages in the country and had likely boosted the state’s take-up, he said.

But Mr Pollock warned there were still concerns over the rollout of the HomeBuilder scheme.

The Federal Government requires construction to begin within three months of a contract being signed for projects to be eligible.

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But states have been given the discretion to grant exemptions for renovation or home builds if they are held up due to unforeseen events like building approval delays.

Mr Pollock welcomed the possibility for exemptions but said the three-month turnaround was still “quite tight” given the time some building approvals took.

There could also be issues for new housing developments in getting land titles approved by council before the scheme ends on December 31, which could see some families miss out on their dream property, he said.

“What we hope, particularly given how strong the interest has been in the scheme ... [is] that short-term supply constraint is not an inhibitor and does not disappoint people who would like to access the scheme and become homeowners,” Mr Pollock said.

Master Builders Tasmania Executive Director Matthew Pollock alongside owner of Creative Homes Hobart, Greg Rothacker, who has been busy since the HomeBuilder scheme. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Federal Housing Minister Michael Sukkar said the three-month rule would not be relaxed and the scheme would end before January.

“HomeBuilder is specifically designed to unlock the greatest amount of economic activity to support keeping tradies in work in the second half of 2020,” he said.

“If eligible home buyers purchase a new property or rebuild their existing home, in accordance with HomeBuilder’s price caps, between June 4 2020 and December 31 2020, they will receive the grant,” Mr Sukkar said.

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For renovations, grants will only be paid once at least $150,000 of the contract price has been paid by the homeowner.

Announcing the state’s $1.8 billion two-year “infrastructure blitz” earlier this month, Premier Peter Gutwein said the housing grants and wider plan were designed to create or support 15,000 jobs and rebuild the economy after the coronavirus shutdown.