Tassie new homes lure

“TREE changers” forced out of overpriced Sydney and Melbourne markets are wellplaced to capitalise on Tasmania’s new-home boom, new figures show.

Business research and forecasting firm BIS Shrapnel said the extension of the Tasmanian Government’s First Home Builders Boost had led to a surge in construction across the state, but also had contributed to slow growth in median house prices.

BIS Shrapnel senior manager Angie Zigomanis said this presented a significant opportunity for interstate buyers.

“There is a potential upside to underlying demand if the state experiences a net interstate migration inflow similar to the early 2000s, when migrants took advantage of price gains to sell their homes to downshift to Tasmania,” he said.

The State Government wants to grow Tasmania’s population to 650,000 people by 2050.

State Growth Minister Matthew Groom has launched a discussion paper aimed at encouraging expat Tasmanians to return home.

The FHBB — which has been reduced from $30,000 to $20,000 until the end of December 2015 — has resulted in 1400 grants costing $38 million since it was introduced in November 2013.

However, Mr Zigomanis warned a rise in construction would mean a persistent excess of supply that — without population growth — would contribute to limiting Hobart’s rise in median house prices to 4 per cent over the next three years.

Housing Industry Association regional executive director Rick Sassin said the industry was positive about a spike in building approvals and did not believe there was an over supply.

“People have been building somewhere to live and we have not noticed a lot of ‘spec’ building,” Mr Sassin said.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released yesterday showed a 1.1 per cent fall in Tasmanian dwelling commitments from 857 to 848 in May.

HIA said that nationally there had been a 5.4 per cent decline in the value of lending to owner occupiers, while lending to investors constructing new dwellings had increased by 1.6 per cent during the month.