In the new year, HomeBuilder was reduced from $25,000 to $15,000 for new builds and substantial renovations, with the threat of reduction providing the best stimulus.

The latest figures from the Housing Minister's office indicate more than 75,000 applications had been made for HomeBuilder.

These are applications and are subject to state government revisions, and are also not assessed for eligibility.

As of 4 December, only 32,000 applications had been received - 42,679 applications were apparently made in 27 days.

Building a home? The table below features construction loans with some of the lowest interest rates on the market.

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Filters
LenderHome LoanInterest Rate Comparison Rate* Monthly Repayment Repayment type Rate Type Offset Redraw Ongoing Fees Upfront Fees LVR Lump Sum Repayment Additional Repayments Split Loan Option TagsFeaturesLinkCompare
6.14% p.a.
6.20% p.a.
$2,047
Interest-only
Variable
$0
$835
70%
6.43% p.a.
6.68% p.a.
$2,143
Interest-only
Variable
$0
$530
90%
  • Interest Only during construction
  • No monthly, annual or ongoing fees
  • Get Australia’s lowest rate construction loan when you go green
6.43% p.a.
6.68% p.a.
$2,143
Interest-only
Variable
$0
$530
90%
6.45% p.a.
6.20% p.a.
$2,515
Principal & Interest
Variable
$0
$1,520
60%
6.74% p.a.
6.42% p.a.
$2,247
Interest-only
Variable
$0
$600
90%
6.92% p.a.
6.95% p.a.
$2,307
Interest-only
Variable
$0
$300
80%
6.94% p.a.
7.19% p.a.
$2,313
Interest-only
Variable
$0
$530
80%
7.09% p.a.
7.45% p.a.
$2,363
Interest-only
Variable
$0
$500
80%
7.81% p.a.
7.84% p.a.
$2,882
Principal & Interest
Variable
$0
$600
69.99%
8.29% p.a.
8.62% p.a.
$3,016
Principal & Interest
Variable
$0
$0
80%
8.56% p.a.
8.58% p.a.
$2,853
Interest-only
Variable
$0
$600
69.99%
8.68% p.a.
8.75% p.a.
$2,893
Interest-only
Variable
$0
$800
95%
Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

Base criteria of: a $400,000 loan amount, variable, fixed, principal and interest (P&I) home loans with an LVR (loan-to-value) ratio of at least 80%. However, the ‘Compare Home Loans’ table allows for calculations to be made on variables as selected and input by the user. Some products will be marked as promoted, featured or sponsored and may appear prominently in the tables regardless of their attributes. All products will list the LVR with the product and rate which are clearly published on the product provider’s website. Monthly repayments, once the base criteria are altered by the user, will be based on the selected products’ advertised rates and determined by the loan amount, repayment type, loan term and LVR as input by the user/you. *The Comparison rate is based on a $150,000 loan over 25 years. Warning: this comparison rate is true only for this example and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Rates correct as of . View disclaimer.

The Government had initially budgeted for 27,000 applications, costing approximately $688 million.

Assuming all applications turn into grant-worthy construction starts, 75,143 applications would cost nearly $2 billion.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data for November - admittedly now out of date - show private sector housing built was 6.1% higher than October, with 11,489 dwellings approved.

Private sector housing, in original terms, was in large part boosted by Western Australia - up 209% since July - which has its own additional HomeBuilder grant, with eligible borrowers able to get up to $45,000 to put towards a new build.

In November, Queensland also led the charge in private housing approvals, up 17%.

It, too, has its own additional construction grants, with a focus on building in regional areas.

Further, the ABS numbers reveal approximately only 16% of renovations made in November would have been eligible for the HomeBuilder grant. 

Nonetheless, Housing Minister Michael Sukkar and various building associations have heaped praise on the HomeBuilder scheme. 

"It has kept hundreds of thousands of tradies in work who would have otherwise been facing the unemployment queue," Mr Sukkar said.

Master Builders Australia (MBA) chief Denita Wawn pointed to the "perfect storm" for home building.

"We’ve kept COVID-19 in good stead, we have very low interest rates, and people are not spending money on travel … there is excess capacity to spend," she told The Australian.

Housing Industry Australia's (HIA) new home sales report also indicates new home sales were at their second-strongest point in the 20-year history of the survey.

“This surge in sales can be attributed to HomeBuilder as households finalised contracts to build a new home before the 31 December 2020 deadline to access the $25,000 grant," HIA economist Angela Lillicrap said.

“The extension of the timeframe to commence building from three months to six, which was announced in November, played a significant role in December’s results."

However, in November, Shadow Housing Minister Jason Clare was less optimistic about HomeBuilder after the extension was announced and the construction deadline was extended from three to six months.

"The Morrison spin machine says they are extending the HomeBuilder Scheme because it has been so successful. The fact is they have to extend it because the original scheme was too small and was badly designed," he said.

"According to work done by [MBA], this extension of the Scheme will only increase the number of homes built this financial year by up to 1,569."

Photo by Callum Hill on Unsplash



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