BUILDER STIMULUS CASH PLAN NEEDS SOME RENOVATING
The eligibility criteria mean new builds will take the lion’s share of the HomeBuilder scheme, which leaves a host of Coast tradies with little skin in the game
THE road to hell is paved with good intentions.
In this case, the road in question is that which leads to economic recovery.
The Federal Government obviously means well with the $688 million HomeBuilder scheme, as it looks to support the ailing construction sector.
And the truth is that when the Australian building industry catches a cold, the Gold Coast gets pneumonia.
As well as hospitality and tourism, construction is one of the biggest employers in our city – 10 per cent of jobs are in the sector. So any bump in the road can lead to a lethal crash.
With commercial and industrial sites all but shuttered, tradies working on long-term projects have turned to domestic builds and renovations.
This is why this HomeBuilder scheme seems like such good news. Until you read the fine print.
According to industry feedback, the tight eligibility criteria mean most projects funded will be new home builds, not renovations.
And that is where the Gold Coast misses out.
The only suburbs in which new homes are built en masse are in the far north of our city. That is fantastic news for first home buyers there, who will almost certainly meet the criteria.
But for the rest of the Coast, new home builds are few and far between. And those who can afford to buy a block south of Coomera, only to knock it down and start again, hardly need help anyway.
For the rest of the Gold Coast, renovations are the only way to secure a sweet spot on the coastal strip.
But forking out $150,000 on a reno after you have already spent more than half a million seems unlikely, especially when you factor in that the scheme cannot even be used for a pool.
Since when don’t pool builders’ jobs count as part of the construction industry?
Indeed, to receive the $25,000 grant, applicants will need to use the money to build a new home (which can’t be worth more than $750,000, including land, on completion) or make renovations to an existing home worth between a minimum $150,000 and a maximum $750,000 – while earning no more than $200,000 as a couple.
So, yeah, basically only buyers in Coomera and surrounds are eligible.
Having just completed major renovations on our home (gutting two bathrooms and building a third), it seems ridiculous to me that we would not have been eligible.
For six weeks we have employed a huge number of local workmen, a veritable parade of trades who have traipsed past my toilet. Builders, plumbers, painters, tilers, plasterers, apprentices and more (no electricians though, we supplied our own in the shape of my husband). Plus thousands of dollars spent at local tile shops, hardware stores and building supplies.
I won’t disclose how much we spent (hint: a lot) but it’s still not even close to the $150,000 threshold.
That is a relief in some ways because if it turned out we were eligible for the $25,000 but had simply started too soon, I would have fallen down a deep, dark hole with nothing but financial self-pity at the bottom.
(Even worse, we only pulled the trigger on the reno so early because we wanted to help the local economy. Completely selfless, we are. Nothing to do with wanting gold-plated loo seats and wanting them now.)
In fact, our builder told me this HomeBuilder scheme will not provide any stimulus to his business. In all his years on the tools, he has only worked on one job where the contract was for more than $150,000.
A little less free money for a little less outlay would have made a world of difference.
Even just $5000 back for a $50,000 spend would have been stimulating enough to get more residents to pull the trigger on a domestic revamp. And I would have been eligible. So maybe it’s right that they got it wrong.
Still, I hate to be ungrateful. After all, any government grant is welcome news.
But in terms of the aim of HomeBuilder – which is not so much to give people better homes at a cheaper price, but to keep construction workers in jobs – less really would have been more.
For all intents and purposes, this scheme is a road to nowhere for our city.