COUPLE’S DREAM NOW REALITY

THE government stimulus packages providing up to $45,000 for first home buyers has made all the difference for Jennifer and Ross Peck.

The Pecks, who have two children, Zali, 8, and Lachie, 4, had intended on buying an existing home until the Federal and State governments this month announced plans for grants for home building and renovation, including for first home buyers.

“We were looking to buy an established home. Building was never on our radar. The stimulus package coming through was pivotal,” Ms Peck said. “It was almost too good an opportunity to miss out on.”

Ms Peck said when they walked into a display home of Townsville builder Hewitson Homes at North Shore it was a case of “wow, I love that. That’s what I want”.

Now the whole family is very excited to the point where their youngest son, Lachie, already has been packing his bag waiting for the move.

Hewitson Homes builder Joel Hewitson said the company had seen a massive increase in the number of groups passing through its North Shore display home on Saturday and Sunday from eight four or five weeks ago to 60 or 70 over the past three weekends.

Mr Hewitson said the new government grants were “certainly the stimulus that Townsville needed” given the difficult home building market of the past 10 years.

But like other industry players he believed the Government should extend the period when grants were available, from December 31 at present out to June 30, 2021, to give the industry time to capitalise on the measures.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for Townsville and the industry to capitalise on some movement in the market. (But) I’d be calling on the Government to extend this offer,” Mr Hewitson said. Mr Hewitson understood Townsville would have a big shortage of land ready for development and that developers would be scrambling to make sure enough land was available to meet the current time frame for grants.