The Federal Government’s $25,000 grants for new homes and renovations have been welcomed by the Sovereign Hills Display Village builders.

Construction must be contracted to commence within three months of the contract date.

With a national dwelling price cap of $750,000 for new home builds, display village builder Better Homes and Developments expects the program to be especially effective in regional areas.

“I think the scheme is going to have a bigger impact for regional areas in the country and Port Macquarie, considering our migration rate and our growth, and I think it could really be a saving grace for our jobs and suppliers over the next six months leading into the new year,” shared Neville Jones.

“Most builders and tradespeople have taken a step back from taking on new apprentices, so I think if we can see some stability and some certainty moving forward, and some growth, hopefully we’ll see an increase in apprenticeship uptake which is something that is so needed.”

HomeBuilder applicants will be subject to eligibility criteria, including income caps of $125,000 for singles and $200,000 for couples based on their latest assessable income.

A renovation price range of $150,000 up to $750,000 will apply to renovating an existing home with a current value of no more than $1.5 million.

The program is expected to provide around 27,000 grants at a total cost of around $680 million.

The Executive Director of the Master Builders Association New South Wales Brian Seidler welcomed the package.

“It’s directed at small business and small business is the backbone of the building industry. It also points to the fact that small business is where apprentices are employed, and apprentices get their best training in residential building and refurbishments,” Mr Seidler explained.

“The building industry across Australia employs 1.2 million people. We are the largest sector of small business and we’re the largest trainer of the future workforce. We train more apprentices than any other sector.”

An increase in residential construction will help to fill the gap in construction activity expected in the second half of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

HomeBuilder will help to support the 140,000 direct jobs and another 1,000,000 related jobs in the residential construction sector including businesses and sole-trader builders, contractors, property developers, construction materials manufacturers, engineers, designers and architects.

HomeBuilder complements existing state and territory First Home Owner Grant programs, stamp duty concessions and other grant schemes, as well as the Commonwealth’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and First Home Super Saver Scheme.

“When you look at the $25,000 federal grant announced today along with your state grant of $10,000 and waiving of stamp duty on their land purchase, first home buyers have got the ability to inject $35,000 into their first home,” added Neville Jones. “$35,000 is a big start in your home.”

This year, the Government delivered the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme to help eligible first home buyers to purchase their first home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent, allowing them to get into the market sooner.

HomeBuilder is expected to create even more opportunities for first home buyers to enter the property market, as well as support other eligible Australians to build a new home or renovate an existing home.

The HomeBuilder program will be implemented via a National Partnership Agreement, signed by the Commonwealth and state and territory governments.

Port Macquarie is a regional city experiencing very strong economic growth. Our region boasts a highly diversified and resilient local economy, with a range of industries delivering some of the highest rates of employment growth in regional Australia.

The Port Macquarie-Hastings region is also well-known for our significant tourism industry – attracting more than 1.6 million visitors per year, and driving significant interest in individual and business relocation to our region.