End of HomeBuilder sets the stage for more housing inequality
First-home buyers enjoyed a brief bonanza with the new construction boom. But now asset-rich investors are once again piling into the market.
(AAP Image/Stefan Postles)
The government s successful HomeBuilder program helped drive housing investment to a record high, with loan commitments topping $30 billion in March, data released yesterday from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows.
But the end of the program and surging house prices are setting the stage for a surge in housing inequity.
In May last year housing lending was down to $16 billion. In June the government announced its HomeBuilder package for the construction sector, and it has been wildly successful: housing finance first returned to pre-pandemic levels and by the final quarter of 2020 was hitting all-time record highs.
Behind the unassuming front of a suburban redbrick cottage lies a spectacular modern home
The four-bedroom in Fullarton, 10 minutes drive from the heart of Adelaide, is described as out of this world
Standout features include a heated swimming pool, custom wine cellar and sprawling sunlit living spaces
The listing agent has described the house as like stepping straight into a Vogue magazine shoot
New car sales are tearing into the sunset, according to Australia’s peak automotive industry body, which says last month was the highest-selling April on record.
Byron Bay: the good and the bad of housing trends
The northern NSW destination has become a symbol, or a microcosm, of post-pandemic population and housing trends – and the surge is not just about global influencers or the uber-wealthy.
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Last Saturday I drove into the hinterland of Byron Bay for an auction.
The property, on Alidenes Road in Wilsons Creek just 15 minutes from the coast, nestles into the rainforest on 1.5 hectares of luxuriant garden surrounding an open-plan home with an elevated panorama across a green vista of field and forest.
Wategos Beach near Byron Bay. The area had strong house price and population growth for at least two decades before the pandemic struck.