Home Property Australia Building Bonus extension gives buyers and builders breathing space

Building Bonus extension gives buyers and builders breathing space

  • October 26, 2020

Building Bonus extension gives buyers and builders breathing space

Industry has welcomed an announcement by Premier Mark McGowan and Treasurer Ben Wyatt to extend the deadline for construction to commence under the State Government’s $20,000 Building Bonus grant scheme.

The scheme, announced as a COVID-19 stimulus measure provides $20,000 for eligible homebuyers to build a new house or single-tier development for contracts entered into between 4 June 2020 and 31 December 2020. The Building Bonus program complements the Federal Government’s $25,000 HomeBuilder grants, announced around the same time.

Initially budgeted at $117 million, the State Government confirmed pre-budget that an additional $30 million would be allocated to cater for the unexpected surge in demand the scheme would bring.

The increased demand for land and trades caused concern within industry that the initial deadlines for construction would see eligible homebuyers miss out, risking the desired impact of the stimulus measure.

Following ongoing representations to the State Government, including to the Premier directly at our Premier’s Lunch event in late August, last week Mark McGowan and Ben Wyatt confirmed the deadline to commence construction would be extended until 31 December 2021.

Off-The-Plan apartment buyers remain eligible for the extended 75% Stamp Duty Rebate scheme, first introduced following Property Council WA advocacy in October 2019. The extended rebate, also announced with the Building Bonus program in June, means that apartments bought off-the-plan between 4 June 2020 and 31 December 2020 qualify for a 75% Stamp Duty Rebate. Previously, purchases only qualified where they were made before work had ‘substantially commenced.’

Property Council WA continues to advocate for better settings to encourage apartment development, including the removal of the Foreign Buyers Surcharge.

You can read the Premier and Treasurer’s media release announcing the extension here.

Information about Building Bonus grants is available here.

Read more about the 75% Off-The-Plan Stamp Duty Rebate here.