The Tasmanian government renewed its commitment to help local homebuyers achieve their goals by laying out key policy extensions in the 2022-23 Budget, including expanding the land rebates and the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG).
One of the initiatives with the new budget is doubling the available Residential Land Rebate from $15m to $30m to expand land supply.
Latest figures show that more than 1,062 blocks of land state-wide have now been approved under the headworks holiday program, with another 116 currently being assessed.
Meanwhile, the state’s local FHOG program, which have helped more than 4,000 Tasmanians, will be extended to 30 June 2023. Under the program, first-home buyers who are building a new residence or purchasing a newly built residence may be eligible for a grant of up to $30,000.
Tasmania’s shared equity program will also be adjusted to cater to more lower income households break into the market with at least 2% home loan deposit.
The new version of the shared equity scheme will commence on 1 July and will provide a maximum contribution of $200,000 or 40% of the purchase price of a new home or house and land package and $150,000 or around 30% of the price of an existing home.
Furthermore, the state increased the property value threshold for stamp duty concessions to $600,000, reflecting the recent hikes in Tasmania’s dwelling values.
Figures from CoreLogic showed a 20.7% annual gains in the dwelling values of Tasmania’s capital Hobart to $735,425 in April. This was one of the biggest annual growth rates across all capital cities during the month.
Boosting the housing supply
Minster for state development, construction, and housing Guy Barnett said the government’s Ancillary Dwelling Grants Program will be given a $2.5m boost in the current budget to support policies that would increase the supply of houses.
“Importantly, this will support the building of 500 new dwellings with grants available of $10,000 each,” he said.
“Dwellings built under the program must be leased and tenanted for at least two years after they are built to qualify, and applicants must meet eligibility criteria —we have already supported almost 190 new dwellings and there is funding for another 310, so I would encourage Tasmanians to apply.”
Affordable housing strategy
The government will also implement what it dubs as the “most comprehensive and ambitious affordable housing strategy in Tasmania’s history” by investing up to $538m into social and affordable housing and homelessness initiatives.
“We will build 1,169 homes this year, meeting our target of 1,500 by June 2023 and rising to a total of 10,000 new homes by 2032 as part of our 10-year $1.5bn housing package,” Mr Barnett said.
“The cornerstone of our plan is Tasmania’s new Housing Authority, which will be tasked with building and acquiring these homes, as well as partnering with the not-for-profit sector and legislation is currently being prepared to ensure that Authority is up and running by October this year.”
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