Western Australia FHB grant for new homes boosted $5,000 to $15,000
The first home owners grant for West Australian buyers purchasing new properties will increase from $10,000 to $15,000 in the new year, the State Government has announced ahead of the forthcoming election.
It will take effect from January 1, 2017.
The grant is only for newly constructed homes, as the Government followed the trend scrapping the grant for established properties in 2013.
The $5,000 boost will only apply for one year with Premier Colin Barnett saying the increase was aimed giving the state's slowing economy a "kick along."
"We estimate [the increase] will allow perhaps another 650 people to enter into the first home owners market," he said.
The cost is estimated at around $45 million.
Finance and Small Business Minister Sean L'Estrange said the new $5,000 boost would apply to contracts entered into between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 for the purchase or construction of a new home.
He said homes must be completed within certain timeframes. Construction must start within 26 weeks from signing the building contract and be finished within 18 months.
Those buying an off-the-plan apartments will need to make sure construction is completed by June 30, 2019, he added.
As with the existing grant, the boost will also apply to new homes up to the value of $750,000 or up to $1 million if the home is located north of Shark Bay.
The monthly number of first home owner grants paid in WA peaked in June 2009 at 2,419, but the figure dropped to 776 grants by April 2016, the ABC reported.
Last week Perth was ranked as Australia’s most accessible mainland capital for first time home buyers - the only city where the time it takes for a couple to save for deposit is not increasing.
The national report from Bankwest measured the time it takes a new entrant on Perth’s property market to save around $101,300 needed for a 20 per cent deposit on a median priced home has remained stable at 3.8 years.
It is below the national average of 4.4 years needed to save for a deposit worth $103,600.
Sydney couples face the toughest challenge, needing 8.4 years to save for a deposit worth $214,600.
West Australian entry level buyers have to save for 3.5 years, less than the 3.6 years required last year.
But the number of first home buyers in WA shrank by 14.1 per cent to 16,424 in the twelve months to June this year.