Mr MILLS - 2000-08-08
I understand the government has made some major changes to its HomeStart scheme. Can she please tell the House the impact that this is likely to have on home ownership in the Territory?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I know the member for Blain, representing an electorate which has one of the fastest-growing populations in the Northern Territory, is very keen to encourage home ownership. This is a good-news day for first-home buyers. We are making major changes to our scheme to assist them to access a first home.
There has been a need to review our scheme to date, and we believe the changes we are making will encourage the local building industry, will assist the real estate market and most importantly will give first-home buyers the opportunity to make a commitment to live in the Territory.
As members know, at the moment the HomeStart scheme has a property market value limit of $140 000. It is quite obvious when you look around the marketplace that $140 000 in this day and age is not really allowing enough options for those first-home buyers. So we are increasing that level to $180 000 - a big increase. This will allow first-home buyers to have a wider range of options than they have had in the past. It is a very big opportunity for them to either purchase a home or go out and build a home. Raising the level to $180 000 is a big step for first-home buyers here.
To do this, of course, we also have to talk about affordability. At the moment our income level for first-home buyers is pegged at $700. We have increased that to $800. This provides that little niche in the marketplace for those people who cannot access private market finance. They can access our scheme and purchase 70%-100% of their house.
This is the government saying to those people out there who want to make that commitment to the Territory: ‘It is your opportunity to purchase a home. We will assist you. We have increased the upper limit of loans by $20 000 to a maximum of $115 000’. And remember, the deposit we expect first-home buyers to put on this loan is far less than if they were going through a private finance broker.
As well as that, Territory Housing will purchase up to 30% or $45 000, whichever is the lesser, of this home, so that the first-home buyer knows that they will not have such a large loan to pay off. It will be affordable. Why should they continue to pay market rent when they can actually be paying off an asset that will help our economy grow, to be strong and stable, and of course mean that we will have more people committed to the Territory.
I will be making a statement in the House later in the day to elaborate more on the changes that we are introducing. But to those people out there, that group of people who don’t own a home yet, who earn $800 or less, I say: ‘Go and have a look. You may be eligible to access our HomeStart scheme’.
What this government wants is to help the building industry, help the real estate industry, but most importantly to encourage first-home buyers to purchase a home in the Northern Territory.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I know the member for Blain, representing an electorate which has one of the fastest-growing populations in the Northern Territory, is very keen to encourage home ownership. This is a good-news day for first-home buyers. We are making major changes to our scheme to assist them to access a first home.
There has been a need to review our scheme to date, and we believe the changes we are making will encourage the local building industry, will assist the real estate market and most importantly will give first-home buyers the opportunity to make a commitment to live in the Territory.
As members know, at the moment the HomeStart scheme has a property market value limit of $140 000. It is quite obvious when you look around the marketplace that $140 000 in this day and age is not really allowing enough options for those first-home buyers. So we are increasing that level to $180 000 - a big increase. This will allow first-home buyers to have a wider range of options than they have had in the past. It is a very big opportunity for them to either purchase a home or go out and build a home. Raising the level to $180 000 is a big step for first-home buyers here.
To do this, of course, we also have to talk about affordability. At the moment our income level for first-home buyers is pegged at $700. We have increased that to $800. This provides that little niche in the marketplace for those people who cannot access private market finance. They can access our scheme and purchase 70%-100% of their house.
This is the government saying to those people out there who want to make that commitment to the Territory: ‘It is your opportunity to purchase a home. We will assist you. We have increased the upper limit of loans by $20 000 to a maximum of $115 000’. And remember, the deposit we expect first-home buyers to put on this loan is far less than if they were going through a private finance broker.
As well as that, Territory Housing will purchase up to 30% or $45 000, whichever is the lesser, of this home, so that the first-home buyer knows that they will not have such a large loan to pay off. It will be affordable. Why should they continue to pay market rent when they can actually be paying off an asset that will help our economy grow, to be strong and stable, and of course mean that we will have more people committed to the Territory.
I will be making a statement in the House later in the day to elaborate more on the changes that we are introducing. But to those people out there, that group of people who don’t own a home yet, who earn $800 or less, I say: ‘Go and have a look. You may be eligible to access our HomeStart scheme’.
What this government wants is to help the building industry, help the real estate industry, but most importantly to encourage first-home buyers to purchase a home in the Northern Territory.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016