Grants

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The Federal Government’s $25,000 Homebuilder package for the housing sector will help promote jobs and activity as New South Wales recovers from the economic effects of COVID-19.
That is important as construction is a key pillar of the economy – generating 7.5 percent of the nation’s growth as Australia’s third-biggest employer, after retail and health care and social assistance.
The $688 million package hopes to pull forward activity to avert the jobs cliff that could arise as exisiting projects finish in the second half of 2020 and early 2021.
The industry was not shutdown unlike other industries. But the package is aimed at forward work pipelines, with the time frame requiring quicker state government and council approvals, before any impact on the actual property market and prices and rents.
The program aims to provide 27,000 grants by December this year. It is for owner-occupiers, especially cashed up first home buyers, but not investors.
The means-tested grants will be restricted to large renovations and the construction of new homes as the project cost must be at least $150,000.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the scheme would drive a "tradie-led recovery" of the economy, and would support 140,000 direct construction jobs and a million workers in the wider residential building sector.
"The industry is facing a valley of death," the Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn warned.
The scheme will last until the end of the year, aiming to get 30,000 homes underway by Christmas.
Construction must commence within three months of the contract date.
Those eligible are singles who earned up to $125,000 the 2018-2019 tax year and couples who earned up to $200,000.
The scheme will work alongside existing state and territory first-home owner grants programs, stamp duty concessions and other grant schemes, including the federal government’s popular first-home loan deposit scheme and first-home super saver scheme.
The desired economic recovery will be swifter for having a housing that is robust, but there will be many would-be home owners who can't, won't or shouldn't participate.
It comes up against the backdrop that typically less than 20 percent of first-home buyers prefer to buy newly-constructed homes.
There are price thresholds that apply to the Homebuilder package, especially in Sydney which will be restrictive in most suburbs.
If you are building a new home the total value of the completed house and land needs to be less than $750,000.
Or if substantially renovating your existing home the value of your existing property does not exceed $1.5 million.
The package will primarily have an effect in the outer suburbs and its greenfield housing markets. Mostly people some way down the track to either buying or building will likely get to participate.
The scheme also covers buying units off the plan that are construction ready.
Architect academic Geoff Hanmer says no doubt the scheme's structure will encourage people to build in coffee makers, microwaves, fridges and washing machines to bump the contract price up above the $150,000 minimum.
Beware too that there are unscrupulous builders who may take advantage of the scheme, warns the NSW builder broker, Builder Finders' Lynette Manciameli, is concerned that the scheme is vulnerable to exploitation.
“What we are likely to see off the back of the HomeBuilder scheme is dodgy builders coming out of the woodwork." Mrs Manciameli suggests.
Adding it is more important than ever for consumers to do their due diligence when selecting a builder for their project including seeking out testimonials and checking credit scores.
This article was first published in The Daily Telegraph
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HomeBuilder scheme will drive a tradie-led recovery

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Stockland has announced the launch of its annual CARE Grants program for 2020, inviting local not-for-profit and community groups to apply for funding needed to create ‘more cohesive, inclusive and engaging community-based programs and local opportunities’.
Stockland’s CARE Grants program offers up to up to $300,000 in funding to support to local groups, clubs and programs who support health, wellbeing, community connection, education, or local environmental initiatives.
Since 2014, the Stockland CARE Grants program has distributed more than $1.5 million in funding to more than 1,260 local community groups across the country.
“Stockland has a long-standing commitment to working with communities through its retail town centres, retirement living villages and residential communities across the country. We focus on building liveable, thriving communities and are proud to support local groups who make a difference in their communities every single day,” said Tiernan O’Rourke, the company’s Chief Financial Officer.
“We whole-heartedly recognise the valuable contribution these groups make to their community every single day. We are proud to continue our support for local community groups whose great work, dedication and commitment are an essential part of making any community thrive,” Mr O’ Rourke added.
Grants have been distributed to a range of community groups including environmental groups, animal care and welfare groups, local charities, local primary and high schools seeking additional funds to launch special, community-based programs, as well as a host of local sporting, special interest, seniors and social clubs.
Stockland’s is accepting entries from 9:00am (AEDT) on Monday, 24 February until 5:00pm (AEDT) on Friday, 20 March 2020.
Community groups will be selected based on a range of criteria relating to the grant's community and environmental focus areas.
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Stockland CARE Grants program 2020 begins taking 2020 entires

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The NSW Government has announced a number of changes to increase housing supply in the state, blaming the previous government for a shortfall of 100,000 Sydney homes.
In releasing reforms to the first home buyer grant system, the state government announced they will increase housing supply through fast tracking approvals for well-designed terraces, dual occupancies and town houses and a number of other measures to open up land.
According to the NSW Government, the plan will increase housing supply through:
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greater use of independent panels for some councils to ensure development applications are done e ciently and to ensure the integrity of the planning process; 
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fast tracking approvals for well-designed terraces, dual occupancies and town houses through complying development; 
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accelerating the development of Priority Precincts and Priority Growth Areas to deliver an additional 30,000 homes in carefully chosen areas; 
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providing up to $2.5 million to individual councils to accelerate the development of new Local Environment Plans that open up new housing areas; 
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ensuring housing supply is delivered through the establishment of a new ministerial taskforce on housing a ordability and a new Premier’s Priority headline goal of delivering an average of 61,000 housing completions a year over the next four years, with two supporting targets; 90 percent of approvals determined within 40 days by 2019 and state-led rezonings for 10,000 additional dwellings in appropriate areas per year on average to 2020-21.
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