Date Time
HomeBuilder workhorse of economic recovery
The success of the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder grants program demonstrates the power of residential construction in supporting jobs and driving economic activity.
According to new figures from Treasury, more than 75,000 households have applied for the HomeBuilder grant with around 80 per cent of these for new construction.
“HomeBuilder has been the workhorse of Australia’s recovery from the impact of COVID-19, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, generating tens of billions of dollars in economic activity and helping more Australians into their home,” said Ken Morrison, Property Council Chief Executive.
“Significantly, we are seeing record numbers of first home buyers coming into the market, assisted by HomeBuilder and the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.
Scammers on the prowl for first home buyers: WA couple’s dreams shattered
By Maja Garaca Djurdjevic
14 January 2021
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1 minute read
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A Western Australian couple have been scammed out of their entire home purchase savings after a fraudster cloned the settlement agent’s email address.
Property buyers and sellers have been cautioned to “be suspicious” of payment demands made via email, after a young Thornlie couple’s dream of buying their first home was shattered when a scammer stole their savings of almost $133,000 just before Christmas.
According to the Western Australian Commission for Consumer Protection, after having their offer on a Piara Waters home accepted, the couple received an email, supposedly from their settlement agent, asking for a payment of $110,000.
The housing market was going to drop 30pc during the pandemic but instead many areas are booming
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Caitlin Ketley and Ben Munton bought a house in Chigwell for $400,000.
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Key points:
Experts predicted COVID-19 would bring about a 30-per-cent drop in the housing market
Instead, many people took advantage of extraordinarily low interest rates and stimulus packages and entered the market
Some say the current market is here to stay for a little while, but that may not be a good thing
When the health impacts of COVID-19 were still being counted, it was already clear the pandemic was going to corner the world into recession.