The $25,000 grant was announced on June 4 to those building a new home or undertaking significant renovations, subject to eligibility criteria. 

Several state politicians had expressed concerns with the schemes administration and implementation, but the Treasury announced all states and territories were now signatories to the HomeBuilder National Partnership. 

Tasmania has been the first to announce it was now accepting applications for the Federal grant, as well as the $20,000 Tasmanian HomeBuilder Grant, available to those building new homes. 

Queensland said an online application for the Federal grant would be available shortly for contracts signed between 4 June and 31 December 2020. 

The Australian Capital Territory said information on the application process for the grant would be available online from the week beginning 13 July. 

Information on eligibility and application processes for all other states and territories will reportedly be available shortly through their respective websites.

To be eligible for the HomeBuilder scheme, you must:

  • Be an Australian citizen aged 18 years or older and be an individual, not a company or trust.
  • Be on an income of less than $200,000 for couples, and $125,000 for singles.
  • Be spending between $150,000 and $750,000 on a renovation for a home that has been previously valued at less than $1.5 million.
  • Be building a new home worth less than $750,000 (this includes land value). 

Read up on how to finance your HomeBuilder construction here. 

HomeBuilder driving record new housing demand

Data from realestate.com.au (REA) has revealed enquiries for new developments have surged since the announcement of HomeBuilder. 

The new REA Insights New Homes Snapshot for July shows enquiries to developers nationally jumped by almost 63% in June, with land estate enquiries experiencing a 93% lift over the month.

REA Group Executive Manager – Economic Research Cameron Kusher said the spike in June followed a 53.9% increase in May, suggesting the announcement of HomeBuilder led to a further surge in the already increasing interest in new properties.

“I expect to continue seeing high levels of enquiry to developers as buyers look to capitalise on government incentives and historic low borrowing costs that are currently available,” Mr Kusher said.

“First home buyer activity increased 28.5% in June when looking specifically at email enquiry on realestate.com.au, and it’s likely some of this activity was a result of the HomeBuilder stimulus announcement.

“It’s no surprise that land estate new development is benefiting from HomeBuilder given the package is geared towards new builds, there are restrictions on construction timeframes that inhibit apartment development, and the Australian dream is to own a house.”