Home grant reduction to affect prices in Australian market
- Source: Xinhua
- [17:51 September 16 2009]
- Comments
A reduction of the first home owners' grant will significantly impact prices at the lower end of the Australian residential property market, according to a survey released on Wednesday.
However, Sydney and Melbourne residential property markets on the whole are on the road to recovery with the upturn expected to continue through to 2011, the survey respondents believe.
The latest Australian Property Directions Survey has found 70 percent of respondents predict that the scaling back of the first home owners' grant will have a significant impact on residential properties valued under 500,000 Australian dollars (430,000 US dollars).
The survey of valuers, fund managers, property analysts and financiers was compiled by the Australian Property Institute (API).
The federal government's first home owners' grant was doubled to 14,000 Australian dollars (12,100 US dollars) for established homes and trebled to 21,000 Australian dollars (18,200 US dollars) for new properties as part of the government's first stimulus package in October last year.
After September 30 it will be reduced to 10,500 Australian dollars (9,100 US dollars) for established homes and 14,000 Australian dollars (12,100 US dollars) for new homes until December 31, before returning to its original 7,000 Australian dollars (6,000 US dollars) next year.
The API's NSW president, Robert Hecek, said the grant had given a positive boost to Sydney's property market but its effect might diminish when it started to be scaled back.
