AAP General News (Australia)
04-01-2009
Fed: Most want first home grant boost extended: survey
CANBERRA, April 1 AAP - Most Australians want the federal government to extend the
deadline on its more generous first home owners grant scheme beyond June, an online survey
shows.
Last October, the government doubled the grant to $14,000 for established homes and
$21,000 for newly built properties as part of its $10.4 billion stimulus package.
The government has said it can't guarantee the May budget will extended the more generous
grants beyond June 30.
An online poll conducted by independent mortgage broker Loan Market Group found 91
per cent of respondents believed the increases should be extended.
Loan Market Group executive director John Kolenda said the survey results backed widespread
calls for an extension due to the positive effect on the residential real estate market.
"The recovery of the real estate market would be jeopardised if the government sticks
to the original plan," Mr Kolenda said.
The survey found 39 per cent of respondents were looking to enter the property market
but not until the second half of the year.
Twenty eight per cent said they had home loan pre-approval but had not found a property,
while 24 per cent said the boosted grants had been good for the property market.
Mr Kolenda dismissed claims the increased grants had inflated property prices and made
thousands of first-time borrowers vulnerable to bankruptcy if they joined growing jobless
queues.
"The grant has provided stability for the residential real estate sector and those
people entering the property market are borrowing under a much stricter lending regime,"
he said.
"There are many consumers and small-medium enterprises finding it more difficult to
get credit now than they otherwise would have historically, indicating that our banks
are well on top of managing borrower risk."
AAP cb/kms/tnf
KEYWORD: HOUSING GRANT
2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
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