States axing first home grants are in breach of federal agreement, REIA claims
Posted on Thursday, October 25 2012 at 3:21 PM
The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) claims New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia are breaching a federal agreement by sacrificing first homebuyer grants for new home grants, plus ignoring the jobs generated by the renovations market.
REIA president Pamela Bennett
says the states’ move to turn their backs on the established home market and
consequently the home improvement building sector is a breach of the InterGovernmental
Agreement (IGA) and ignores the evidence that 70 per cent of first homebuyers
have a clear preference for established houses.
“The IGA clearly states that
assistance to first homebuyers will be uniform and that an eligible home will
be new or established,” Bennett says.
“First homebuyers make up 17.7 per cent of the
market. REIA strongly urges the Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, not to agree
with the states’ requests for an amendment to the IGA and effectively ignore
the needs of this considerate section of the buyers’ market.”
Bennett says most first homebuyers prefer to live
close to existing facilities and work hubs rather than live in new housing
estates.
“Lifestyle, public transport and commuting are just
a few of the factors concerning those entering the market,” she adds.
What also can’t be ignored as states cut the
established home grant, Bennett says, is the potential loss of jobs in the
established home renovations sector.
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