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| Friday, 13 January 2012 | ||
Housing affordability has been a hot topic since the mid 2000s, and if you’ve been tuning in to talkback radio or reading the opinion pages over the years you’ll know there’s been a constant call for buyers to lower their expectations – if you’re just starting out in the property market you can’t expect four bedrooms in a brand-new estate, right? Well, maybe you can. After a brief resurgence post GFC, by mid 2011 our state’s housing industry had again slowed, leading to the birth of a State Government incentive designed to get Queenslanders building new homes. The Queensland Building Boost Grant was introduced as part of the state budget for 2011-12, and offers a $10,000 incentive to build or buy a new home worth up to $600,000. It also allows for double-dipping with the First Home Owner Grant, meaning the figure increases to $17,000 for first-time buyers. Before the launch of the Building Boost on August 1, 2010 Premier Anna Bligh said as well as providing much-needed stimulus for the construction sector, the $140 million initiative was part of a string of incentives designed to “make housing more affordable for young people”. Following a few interest rate increases and tougher lending criteria, first-home buyers had begun to exit the market, and it was hoped the Building Boost would help lure them back in, while providing regular work for tradespeople. So after a tough year that left local real estate prices comparatively low and ended with two consecutive interest rate drops, early 2012 might be the time for those grappling with high rents to consider building or buying a new home. The Building Boost ends on January 31, so you’ll need to enter into a contract for your new home before that date, and early this month Acting Premier Andrew Fraser urged Queenslanders to consider taking the government up on its offer. “Many developers are offering incentives on top of the State Government’s $10,000 – be it through stamp duty incentives, cash bonuses or other ways like paying for furniture or your household power bills,” he said. The government admits uptake has been slower than expected, with only 3206 applications (of an expected 14,000) lodged by December 30, but the Acting Premier said there had been a “significant ramp-up in interest” that is expected to continue until the deadline. “All housing stimulus packages take a while to ramp up, and this one is no different,” he said. “On the back of a couple of successive interest rate cuts, there is no better time to build a new home in Queensland.”
Many locals looking to do just that are heading down to Caloundra, where work is set to commence on the new Bells Reach community off Bellvista Boulevard. An advance land release on the 2310-hectare Caloundra South development, the new community is owned by national developer Stockland and will eventually comprise 700 new homes and approximately 1600 residents. Project director for Bells Reach, Ben Simpson, says Stockland is focused on meeting a “vital need” for affordable new housing on the Coast. “Affordability and innovation will be hallmarks of Bells Reach and the broader Caloundra South community,” he says. “We have been working closely with our builder partners to deliver home and land packages suitable for a wide range of budgets and lifestyle needs.” These will include land priced from $139,500 and freestanding home and land packages starting at under $300,000, which Ben says are price points “not seen on the Coast for many years”, especially given the community’s relatively central location. Stockland is also offering further savings by paying three years of energy bills on selected home and land packages until February 28 – an attractive prospect for buyers given the rising costs of electricity and water. These high living costs, and the competitive nature of the housing market in general, have left many Australians unable to purchase a front door to get their foot through over the past few years. As a result, the State-owned Urban Land Development Authority has recently launched the $30 million My Place affordable housing initiative. ULDA CEO Paul Eagles says the program is designed to give low to moderate income earners – who are often key workers in their communities – a chance to enter the market. “My Place is aimed at people who live and work in communities as nurses, teachers, and in the retail and services sectors, who are often priced out of the market by people in the community on higher incomes or investors, and to give them a better chance to buy their own home,” he says. The scheme sets aside a number of affordable homes in selected quality housing developments for buyers with a yearly household income of between $60,000 and $105,000. Eligible buyers register their interest in a particular area and a ballot system is used to allocate purchasing rights. Successful buyers then attend a selection day where they choose a house and land package and enter into the relevant land sale and building contracts.
The ULDA has identified Bells Reach as a key area for affordable housing, including it as one of My Place’s seven urban development areas and rolling out the initiative to coincide with Stockland’s first land release. Ten three- and four-bedroom house and land packages priced between $295,355 and $360,000 were on offer in stage one; registrations of interest for these properties closed last Friday and the ballot is being finalised now. The ULDA says My Place will also be incorporated into future releases at Bells Reach, with two-bedroom house and land packages potentially becoming available as part of later stages. While Bells Reach is the only Coast estate included in My Place, the Building Boost applies to any new home in Queensland, meaning you can choose to build anywhere in the region and still snag the government cash. Nambour has always been a hotspot for entry-level homes, and hinterland estates such as The Heights on Henebery Road in Highworth have new homes at prices well within reach of a first-time buyer. Lee Sutherland from RE/MAX Property Sales in Nambour says three house and land packages currently on offer at The Heights are “the cheapest four-bedroom homes on the Sunshine Coast, without question”. “They’re priced between $339,500 and $349,500, and these are four-bed, two-bath, double lock-up garage homes,” he says. “And that price includes everything. Often you’ll find that on top of the starting price you still have to pay for fencing, for landscaping, that sort of thing, but these prices are fully inclusive – you can just walk in and unpack.” As well as the usual investment interest, Lee says he’s had enquiry from first-time buyers who hadn’t expected to be able to afford a new home, and also from buyers who previously might have been priced out of the market altogether. “I’m getting a bit of interest from single people – one is a single mum who’s coming up on the weekend, and is eager to buy in time to get the Building Boost,” he says. So despite the slow uptake, it seems maybe the Building Boost is encouraging Queenslanders to investigate whether they can afford to buy a home – and with competitive prices and lowering interest rates, many are finding that perhaps they can. The ULDA says high interest in the My Place scheme shows that low-to-mid income earners – who may have previously been relegated to an old two-bedroom unit in the sticks – are relishing the opportunity to buy new homes in “quality, affordable housing developments” like Bells Reach. So before January 31 rolls around, do yourself a favour and reconsider what an ‘affordable’ home looks like for you. You never know, it might be newer and shinier than you’d think. LOOKING FOR MORE INFO ON HOW TO SECURE AN AFFORDABLE NEW HOME? VISIT THESE SITES. |
