 First home buyer grant
New home owners who claimed the first-home buyers grant may not to be too happy to hear that they should repay the grant on sale, but this is exactly what Robert Caulfield, managing director of Archicentre, the building advisory service for the Australian Institute of Architects, has proposed in a statement.
He believes that first homebuyers should receive a $30,000 government grant, but repay it through a scheme similar to HECS, which requires students to repay their tertiary education costs.
"This policy would, over time, see a growing fund for the next generation of Australian home buyers, provide ever greater assistance to first home buyers, encourage more sustainable homes and reduce the burden on future taxpayers," he said in a statement.
He also said that most people changed home every seven to 10 years and that capital gains on property would compensate for the repayments.
Last month, the government increased the existing grant, doubling it to $14,000 for established houses and tripled to $21,000 for people building a new home. The increase is supposed to help first home buyers during the economic crisis and stimulate a slowing property market.
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