HomeBuilder sparks surge in home loans, new builds and renos

Borrowers seeking new home loans

Of that $21.3 billion in new housing loan approvals we mentioned earlier, $16.3 billion was comprised of owner-occupier home loans, and there was $5 billion worth of investor loans.

That means owner-occupier home loan commitments increased by 13.6% in August, which is the largest month-on-month rise recorded by the ABS, and eclipses the previous record of 10.7% set in July.

The Housing Industry Association (HIA), which is the official peak body of Australia’s home building industry, says that HomeBuilder is to thank for the surge in demand.

They point out that in August the number of loans for the construction of a new dwelling increased by 22.9% to 4,679 – the highest level in over a decade.

“The short-term stimulus from HomeBuilder is emerging in the housing finance data released by the ABS,” says HIA’s Chief Economist, Tim Reardon.

“There has been a substantial improvement in sentiment and confidence in the housing market.”

So, what’s the HomeBuilder scheme again?

The federal government scheme aims to assist owner-occupiers (including first home buyers) who want to buy a new home, or begin work on eligible renovations, by providing them with a $25,000 tax-free grant.

It’s available to people building a new home for less than $750,000, or to those who spend between $150,000 and $750,000 renovating an existing home, subject to certain eligibility criteria.

You can find out more about the scheme and eligibility here, but here’s the big catch: applications for the HomeBuilder grant must be received no later than 31 December 2020.

So if you’re interested in applying for the scheme, you’ll want to get in touch with us asap.

Not only can we walk you through how to apply for it before the deadline but, just as importantly, we can assist you when it comes to applying for finance.

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