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Real Estate News Releases
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(EMAILWIRE.COM, April 11, 2009 ) Australia - The first time buyers grant offered by the Australian Government has been hugely popular and thousands of buyers have already taken advantage of it – but now, there is concern that demand is exceeding supply and the pot of cash is running out – possibly signalling an end to the slight improvement in the country’s property market…
First time buyers have been given a real helping hand of late by the Australian Government’s homebuyer grant, which provides up to £10,000 to wannabe homeowners.
Thousands have taken advantage of it to take that first crucial step crucial step onto the Australian property ladder and the scheme has been widely praised.
But, such was the demand - far exceeding all expectations - that the cash put aside for the grant is now running dangerously low. Thus, the £10,000 scheme will end on June 30th this year and will revert back to the previous maximum grant of just £3,300 – a real blow for struggling first time buyers.
Whilst the higher grant has been available, the flood of buyers into the market, coupled with low interest rates, has helped to temporarily improve the countryÂ’s housing market and boost consumer confidence.
But now, with news that the grant may have to be stopped altogether, the boost to the property market will be over. As a result, experts and wannabe homeowners alike are calling on the Australian Government to extend the grant scheme and keep the housing market moving.
Yvonne Chan, Head of Property Research at Australian Property Monitors, Australia's most up-to-date national supplier of online property price information said, “There's no doubt that first-home buyers are the reason for the recovery, but if the increase to the grant is not extended, we will see the market deteriorate after June 30th.
“Auction clearance rates will also start to fall,” she added.
According to ‘The Australian’ newspaper, in the Sydney and Melbourne markets, recent home auction clearance rates continued to spike.
In Melbourne, the rate was 78 per cent, the market's best result for more than 12 months. The clearance rate rose eight percentage points from the previous week, and 17 points from the same weekend last year.
In Sydney, the clearance rate was 63 per cent, the same as last week, but 18 points higher than the same weekend last year.
For more information on properties in Australia and the market in general, please visit http://australia.themovechannel.com/
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.
For further information as well as images and interview possibilities, please contact:
Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650
TheMoveChannel.com
Dan Johnson
020 7952 7650
dj@themovechannel.com 
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