Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 25 August 2010
The boost to the First Home Owner grant was an important part of the government response to the GFC in 2009 and there’s no doubt it kept that sector of the market moving. The boost finished but the grant remains at $7,000.
During this recent election campaign the Real Estate Institute of Australia was pushing for the grant to be permanently upped to $15,000, noting that a decade’s passed since the amount was set and in that time Australia’s median house prices have jumped from $220,000 to $519,000. So when introduced the grant was 3.2% of a home price and is now 1.5%.
The other idea the Institute has been running is for first home buyers to be able to access their voluntary superannuation (not employer contributed funds) to buy a home.
“The REIA proposes that a scheme be established which would encourage young Australians to contribute to voluntary superannuation by allowing access to these resources for the purposes of raising a deposit for a first home. The scheme would be an adjunct to the First Home Savers Account but would allow flexibility for the saver to decide whether all or part of the voluntary superannuation payments was needed to augment the home purchase.”
We remember visiting pollies in the mid 1990’s as part of an Institute push for policy change for a similar idea back then. Nothing changed and from what we can tell neither of the major parties have had much time for this idea now.
We’re not sure how many buyers would take advantage of it, but to have a great tax vehicle like super as the place to save for your home seems a great idea.
Your thoughts?
Tags: first home owners, First Home Owners Boost, Real Estate Institute of Australia, superannuation
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, property taxes and rates etc | 2 Comments »
Posted by admin on 16 January 2010
MEDIA RELEASE
Saturday 16th January 2010
New data on Brisbane’s rental housing market was released yesterday and it shows the city’s rents flat-lined during 2009. According to the Residential Tenancies Authority statistics, the December quarter again showed no change to median weekly rents.
Bees Nees Research Managing Director, Rob Honeycombe says a typical Brisbane house has now had the same rent for a year, with apartments rising just 1%. So this week’s controversial Australian Property Monitors forecast for an 8% rise during 2010 is “ambitious”, he said.
“There’s a shortage of rental homes, no doubt about that. But 8% growth is a big leap from 0%”, Mr Honeycombe said.
December’s stats showed a 3 bedroom Brisbane house rent remained at $370 per week while a 2 bedroom apartment still costs $355.
Mr Honeycombe said the APM forecast pointed to greater job confidence amongst Brisbane tenants and the end of the First Home Boost as stimulants for higher rents.
“On the ground, real estate agents are reporting a busy January market with a lot more turnover than any time during 2009. But tenants are not generally agreeing to big rent increases. There’s obviously still caution about their jobs and rent affordability remains top of mind.”
“Landlords are still cautious too. Their mortgage rates are up and they don’t want to risk a vacant home.”
“This will be a better year for property investors but we’d argue the rent rise will be a steady one.”
Tags: Australian Property Monitors, Brisbane landlords, Brisbane property research, Brisbane rents, First Home Owners Boost, median rents Brisbane, rental prices Brisbane, rental supply Brisbane, Residential Tenancies Authority, tenants Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market | 1 Comment »
Posted by admin on 14 September 2009
The current First Home Owners boost is only the latest in a very long line of government incentives to encourage home ownership. The Workers Dwelling Scheme commenced in Queensland in 1909, the government lending buyers two-thirds of the cost of building a house to a maximum 300 pounds. Repayments could be made over 20 years at a fixed 5%.
Brisbane soon had a higher home ownership rate than any capital city. Critics of today’s first home incentives argue they do nothing to help address the undersupply of housing we’re struggling with – maybe a look at our history would provide government with better ideas.
With over 23,000 homes built under the Scheme in its first 30 years it naturally had a big impact on the development of Brisbane’s suburbs. All the houses were built to a range of set designs. Have a sticky-beak at the brochure below promoting an “ideal home”. This one even had the toilet inside the house!
If Brisbane’s 150th birthday has caught your interest in our history get to a local bookshop and grab a copy of “Brisbane: 150 Stories. 1859-2009″. Published by Brisbane City Council it’s a great insight into events throughout our short history and was the source for this pic and info on the Workers Dwelling Scheme.
Tags: Brisbane history, Brisbane home ownership rate, Brisbane houses, First Home Owners Boost
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, architecture and renovation | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 21 August 2009
Are first home buyers still buying? It’s the most common question people are asking us at the moment.
In May it seemed like they”d run out of steam and we might have seen the last rush. The maroon line on the graph below shows the total grants to Queenslanders each month and you’ll see that June kicked back up again. Maybe with more job confidence, buyers lined up for their $14,000 from the government in bigger numbers than ever. The First Home Owners Grant has cost taxpayers $13billion since the October introduction of the boost.
With reasonably tough bank criteria and some conservative valuations going on, we’re surprised the run has continued as long as it has. The grant has pulled forward an enormous amount of first home demand. The graph does show the lines flattening, Queensland more so than other states, and the upcoming release of July stats will give us an update on their appetite.
Our view from the market is that sales volumes are steady as investors are taking up the slack, with first home buyers slowly easing in number.
Tags: first home buyers, First Home Owners Boost, home buyers Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, property taxes and rates etc | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 13 May 2009
first home buying
Good news for those first home buyers still saving up their pennies, with last night’s Budget extending the current Boost to the First Home Owners Grant. Eligible buyers get $14,000 toward their purchase ($21,000 for new property) and that incentive’s now been extended to September 30th 2009.
From October 1st to december 31st it’ll drop back to $10,500 and $14,000 respectively, then from Jan 1st 2010 we’re back to the long-running Grant of $7,000 only.
There’s been a real run of first home buyer sales recently and this extension will give them more time, taking some of the pressure off their decision-making.
With such a strong ‘pull-forward’ of demand having already occurred it’s fair to ask how many first time buyers are left? And more importantly, how many that can get a loan in the new credit world we live in?
Tags: first home buyers, First Home Owners Boost
Posted in property taxes and rates etc, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
The boost to the First Home Owner grant was an important part of the government response to the GFC in 2009 and there’s no doubt it kept that sector of the market moving. The boost finished but the grant remains at $7,000.
