First Home Buyers
First Home Owners Grant restricted by Qld government
January 1, 2010
The Queensland Government has announced further restrictions to the First Home Owners Grant.
From today, people spending more than $1 million on their first home will no longer be eligible for the $7,000 State Government grant.
Treasurer Andrew Fraser says that cap will be reduced to $750,000 by mid-year.
“Frankly they have more than enough capacity to be able to purchase their own home on their own terms,” he said.
“We abolished mortgage duty – we’ve abolished stamp duty for first home buyers up to $500,000 – we’ve increased exemption for people buying a block of land to build their own home – and today we’re introducing a new cap for the first home owners grant to ensure that the grant money goes to those who are most deserving.”
Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) spokesman Dan Molloy says any cap on the First Home Owners Grant should be indexed to compensate for future market increases.
“Certainly we’d be concerned in the longer term if house prices were to continue to grow and there’s no adjustment in the benchmark level for its eligibility,” he said.
“Over time the First Home Owners grant would not be of the benefit that it has been to first home buyers historically.”
The Federal Government’s boost to the First Home Owners Grant has now ended.
For more information visit the Queensland Government Office of State Revenue at: www.osr.qld.gov.au/first-home-owner-grant/index.shtml
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