Home owner grant boost a boon for jobs

A boost from the State Government will enable more people to own their own home this year.

The First Home Owner Grant was increased from $10,000 to $15,000 in conjunction with Keystart finance criteria changes which makes home ownership more achievable for South West residents.

Keystart executive manager of sales and marketing Lisa Di Cesare said there was a strong interest from residents in the South West.

“We receive on average 31 inquiries per month from South West residents wanting to find out whether they are eligible for Keystart finance for the purpose of buying or building a home,” she said.

“The high level of inquires that Keystart has received since December 27 has been due to both the announcement of the increase in the First Home Owner Grant and also the changes to Keystart criteria.

“As a result of the criteria changes and the First Home Owner Grant boost, it is expected that more than 1200 jobs will be created in the construction industry over the next 12 months.”

Housing Minister Brendon Grylls said since Keystart’s conception in 1989 they had helped almost 100,000 West Australians own their own home.

“Since 2010, the State Government has delivered more than 20,000 affordable homes and we’ve set our sights on achieving 30,000 affordable homes for West Australians on low-to-moderate incomes by 2020,” Mr Grylls said.

Treasurer Mike Nahan said Keystart’s lending criteria was tightened in the 2014-15 Budget to help in the Government’s debt management, but since the State's $1.35 billion partial sale of Keystart’s loan book, the lender was now able to broaden its criteria.