North Queensland building industry
North Queensland building approvals have plummeted in the Townsville region as the head of Master Builders Queensland plead with the Labor State government to bring back the $20,000 First Home Buyers Grant Boost.
Master Builders Deputy CEO, Paul Bidwell said; “Something had to be done about the worsening situation faced by the communities of regional Queensland.”
Building approvals data just released paints a gloomy picture of the situation facing regional Queensland.
Across the state, building approvals have dropped by 6.9 percent in the past 12 months.
The largest falls in building approvals were seen in North Queensland, down 31.2 percent over the past 12 months.
Central Queensland was not far behind with a drop in building approval of 30.4 percent.
CEO Paul Bidwell appealed directly to the Palaszczuk Labor State government to take urgent action.
“Facts don’t lie, this clear as day data supports our call for the State Government to bring back the $5,000 Boost to the Queensland First Home Owners’ Grant for our regions,” he said.
“And with mining royalties’ windfall expected to pour an extra half a billion dollars into the State ¬Government’s coffers this financial year, there is nothing stopping the Treasurer to reinvest the money back into regional areas.”
The $20,000 First Home Owners Grant was dropped back to $15,000 from June 30 when the money for the Boost was not allocated for in the FY18-19 State Budget.
“Regional Queensland needs a shot in the arm and the $5,000 Boost was that vital tool for first home buyers to get their foot in the door of the housing market,” Mr Bidwell said.
“Without the Boost, as the data shows, home ownership has been put even further out of reach.”
In the Darling Downs and Western region, approvals are down 20.7 per cent over 12 months. Wide Bay is down 8 per cent.
Far North Queensland is also feeling the burden down 5.9 per cent.
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However, the Mackay region has bucked the downward trend, recording a good result with a 72.1 percent growth in building approvals from a very low base.
“Building new homes injects money into the entire region of our communities. It creates jobs, boosts confidence and delivers economic growth where it’s needed most,” Mr Bidwell said.
“If we can bring back the $5,000 Boost, we can bring back prosperity for our regions, give would-be home owners a leg up and stimulate demand for regional Queensland.”
South-East Queensland data depicts a sunnier setting where approvals are up 2.3 per cent.
Before the First Home Buyers Grant Boost of $5,000 was dropped, an excess supply of land and residential building approvals were found to be a contributing factor in the reduction of demand for existing homes in the Townsville market for rent and sale.
Former Treasurer Curtis Pitt came under scruntiny for potentially misleading first home buyers about the benefits of the First Home Buyers Grants when affordablity of new homes was compared with valuations of existing real estate stocks, which is measured using seperate and unrelated matrix.
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