Qld government stimulus boosts first home buyer interest

HomeBuilder provides eligible owner-occupiers, including first home buyers, with a grant of $25,000 to build a new home or substantially renovate an existing dwelling.

For first home buyers in Queensland, the scheme complements the $15,000 grant from the state government for eligible purchasers of new homes, meaning potential savings of $40,000.

KDL had recently launched Hampton Pallara, a $20.4 million project at Pallara in Brisbane’s south-west which will feature 61 home sites, and because of the grant, “the response from first home buyers has been huge,” he said.

“Despite the economic uncertainty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe they have been attracted due to HomeBuilder stimulus, which when added to the state government funding gives them a $40,000 head start.”

Mr Leicester said HomeBuilder was helping build sales for developers in new estates on registered or soon to be registered land.

The Hampton Pallara estate will have land registered in September, meaning builders can start construction in October, which is well within the 31 December 2020 timeframe to qualify for HomeBuilder, according to him.

KDL had previously witnessed the impact of government stimulus being crucial to keeping the economy active during the global financial crisis.

“A big increase to the federal government’s first home buyers’ grant announced in October 2008 was important to help Australia get through the GFC,” he said.

“The grant was temporarily doubled from $7,000 to $14,000 for established homes and trebled to $21,000 for new properties and the huge uptake strengthened the housing market and the economy as a whole.”

All 61 blocks in the Hampton Pallara estate will be levelled and range in size from 400 square metres to 541 square metres, many with frontages of up to 17 metres. Land is priced from $315,000.

Pallara is a thriving community that has been named as one of the most family-friendly suburbs in Brisbane, with almost 25 per cent of residents aged 14 and under.