How The Budget will hit home buyers

PHOTO: First-home buyers and single parents were the focus of Budget housing relief. Source: News Regional Media

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has offered first-home buyers and single parents much needed help to purchase properties sooner but Tuesday’s Budget included few major new incentives to encourage urgently needed housing supply.

With critical housing shortages partly responsible for driving up property prices in most capitals, particularly in Sydney, industry had been hopeful of a replacement or extension to the expired HomeBuilder scheme.

Instead, no new changes were announced apart from a commitment to allow those who have already applied for the scheme another 18 months to commence their projects.

This was despite the Treasurer labelling HomeBuilder – a $15,000 cashback for those building their homes – “a huge success” in his Budget speech.

The ABS had also reported house approvals increased 70 per cent after the introduction of HomeBuilder last year.

Otherwise, the Budget offered few surprises on the housing front. Many of Mr Frydenberg’s Budget incentives for home seekers had already been announced prior to the Tuesday release of Budget papers.