The Federal Government's HomeBuilder grant has resulted in a flood of enquiries to Bendigo's real estate agents.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
PH Property principal Brad Hinton said there has been a spike in land enquiries during the past week.
"All of the land we have got has just about gone," Mr Hinton said.
"We have a few obscure established land parcels around Bendigo, but most of the land in the larger developments and subdivisions is nearly all under contract or on hold."
Mr Hinton said existing land in Strathfieldsaye and Huntly has proven very popular.
The government's HomeBuilder program offers a grant of $25,000 for new home builders, where the house and land cost is less than $750,000.
It is also subject to an income test.
The limiting factor of the eligibility for many in Bendigo is its shortage of land.
You must enter into a building contract between June 4, 2020 and December 31, 2020 to receive the grant.
Construction must commence within three months of the contract date.
What constitutes a commencement of construction remains to be seen.
Victoria's State Revenue Office is yet to release details of how it intends to manage the program.
"There are a number of subdivisions going through planning processes at the moment," Mr Hinton said.
"It will be a race to see if they will be titled before the December 31 cut-off."
The Real Estate Industry of Victoria has written to state treasurer Tim Pallas, requesting an urgent change to the process in place for a commercial landlord to receive coronavirus land tax relief.
REIV president Leah Calnan said the current arrangement greatly disadvantages commercial property owners.
"Once commercial rent relief negotiations are completed, the tenant must complete an online form to enable the landlord to apply for land tax relief," Ms Calnan said.
"Only the tenant can complete this form for the landlord.
"Our primary concern is there are no incentives or consequences for the tenant if they fail or refuse to do this."
Ms Calnan said all stakeholders must be equally supported.
"It is important to remember the majority of people are doing their best to support impacted tenants," Ms Calnan said.
You can view Treasury's HomeBuilder fact sheet here.
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.