McGowan Government’s Building Bonus set to trigger construction wave

Cash grants of $20,000 for building a new home are set to spark a wave of construction that will exceed pre-coronavirus levels.

High-profile builder Dale Alcock said inquiries fielded by his ABN Group had increased five-fold this weekend, with the State Government yesterday announcing its own stimulus package for the sector.

Property developer Nigel Satterley said he expected new home sales in the second half of this year would eclipse those recorded before COVID-19 forced the nation into lockdown almost three months ago.

As disclosed by The West last week, $20,000 will be paid to owner-occupiers or investors who build a home or purchase a new property in a single-tier development, such as a townhouse, prior to the end of construction.

The State Government’s Building Bonus is not means-tested, there’s no cap on property value, and multiple grants can be paid to the same person in separate transactions between now and December 31.

It is also available to non-Australians and investors living interstate or overseas.

Mark McGowan defended the decision not to means-test the State grants in a similar fashion to the Federal Government’s $25,000 HomeBuilder payment announced last week.

In combination with the Federal grant, those eligible could pocket up to $45,000. First-homebuyers will still get the $10,000 First Home Owner Grant and stamp duty concession, meaning they could be almost $70,000 better off.

The State will also provide $319 million to build, buy, renovate and upkeep social housing.

Master Builders WA executive director John Gelavis said new housing starts had fallen from about 32,000 a year to less than 15,000 in the past six years.

The State Government verified that in a scenario where one lot was separated into five titles by a single-tier strata, five grants could be payable for a total of $100,000. Payment protections have been built into the scheme, with the grant only payable after the applicant becomes the registered owner of the new strata lot.

Mr McGowan said he would write to every council this week to urge them to speed up approvals.