End of South Australia's new home grant to be detrimental in 2014: UDIA SA
South Australia's new home grant ends today, with the Urban Development Institute of Australia SA (UDIA) noting that this will be detrimental for home buyers.
The current grant provides $8,500 to South Australians building new homes up to the value of $400,000, with smaller grants achievable up to $450,000.
The UDIA recommends that it should be continued on into 2014, rather than terminated.
“The UDIA is disappointed that the grant will no longer be available to people building a new home in South Australia,” said executive director for UDIA (SA), Terry Walsh.
“The property industry in SA is still only in the early stages of recovery with the rate of new home approvals continuing to disappoint, so we think removing the grant is premature and may serve to dampen consumer confidence even further," he said.
He noted that the current boost has been a good incentive for new home buyers, including young people entering into the market and first home buyers.
“We think removing the grant, particularly in light of relatively weak market conditions, will have the opposite effect and prove detrimental to new homebuyers," he said.
“And if buyer activity slows, so too will the broader property development and construction industry, which provides tens of thousands of jobs for people across the state.”