THE abolition of the first home buyers bonus could affect real estate sales in growth corridors like Bacchus Marsh.
Treasurer Kim Wells last week axed the state-funded bonus for first home buyers, which gives up to $13,000 in rebates to city buyers plus another $6500 for regional areas like Moorabool if they purchase a new dwelling under $600,000.
The move is expected to provide savings of $163 million next financial year.
Ballan real estate director Eric Kontek said the cut would put new hurdles in front of first home buyers.
“This will really affect the real estate industry in Moorabool, where there are so many first home buyers,” he said.
“It will have a domino effect. There are about 27 different people involved in the construction of new homes, and builders are struggling fairly hard at this stage of the game anyway. This will be detrimental to the industry.”
Mr Kontek said the cuts wouldn’t lower the price of homes.
“Maybe the builders’ margin might be slightly lower, but you can’t get building materials and land at a cheaper price,” he said.
“It will just mean the building will simply slow down or cease.”
Real Estate Institute of Victoria spokesman Robert Larocca said the axing of the popular grant, which had been announced each year since 2009, was expected.
“The bonus has done its job. When you look at the number of first home buyers it really lifted rates of construction, and it didn’t appear to boost numbers of first home buyers last year when they were at historical lows anyway,” he said.
“That boost in sales petered out. The bonus was there partly to address a shortfall in the supply of housing in the state, and it worked.”
Mr Larocca said first home buyers would still have the chance to buy off-the-plan homes with stamp duty cuts. He said new homes on the city’s outskirts were still affordable.
-Claire Knox
