EXTENDING HOMEBUILDER A BLESSING FOR INDUSTRY

THERE is no disputing that federal and Northern Territory governments have saved the construction industry with their generous stimulus grants. The number of new home starts nationwide increased by 26.6 per cent to deliver 33,761 dwellings in the December quarter according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Building Activity Data.

The number of certificates for new homes in the Northern Territory was almost 300 per cent up in March compared to the same month last year.

HomeBuilder has driven the highest level of new home commencements in more than 20 years.

More than 121,000 Australians have applied for the grant, which is expected to support around $30bn worth of residential construction projects.

Importantly the segment of the market that has driven the bulk of this record level of demand is first home buyers who have accounted for over 40 per cent of all loans in recent months.

HomeBuilder, the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and the First Home Super Saver Scheme, gave Australians the confidence to build, or rebuild, a home during a period of great uncertainty. HomeBuilder has helped drive the highest level of new home commencements in more than 20 years. This record level of new home construction is protecting the more than one million jobs reliant on a strong residential construction sector

Now thanks to the decision by the federal government, to extend the construction commencement requirement for the HomeBuilder program from six months to 18 months for all existing applicants, thousands of applicants around the nation are breathing a sigh of relief.

Giving an additional 12 months to start construction responds to unanticipated delays in the construction industry caused by COVID-19-related supply constraints including delays in global supply chains and recent natural disasters.

This means new home construction continuing well into 2022.