Prospective new home owners in Greater Bendigo have received a welcome leg-up from the state government after it doubled its first home owner grant.
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The grant will increase from $10,000 to $20,000 from July 1, and is expected to help around 6000 first-home buyers across regional Victoria.
Just 228 residents in Greater Bendigo used the scheme in 2015 and Bendigo East MP Jacinta Allan was hopeful the change would encourage new purchases in the region.
“It (home owner grant) has double the benefit of helping young people get a good home in a regional area while supporting the local building industry,” Ms Allan said.
The grant is available to first-home buyers building new homes valued up to $750,000, but is not applicable to purchase existing homes.
Director of PRD Nationwide, Tom Isaacs, said the injection of funds “goes a long way into making a contribution to their (first home owners) deposit”.
‘It’s a terrific initiative, a long time coming. It’s a great way to stimulate the land development market and the construction market,” Mr Isaacs said.
The announcement is part of a two-pronged housing stimulus package by the state government, which includes new long-term tenancy agreements for leases of more than five years.
“We need to free the (rental) market of too many rigorous agreements that aren’t helpful for the tenant,” Mr Isaacs said.
The first home owner grant will apply to contracts signed from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020.
