5-May-2009

The REIV has welcomed the decision to extend the First Home Bonus − and the State Government’s prudent budget − saying it will minimise the impact of the global recession in Victoria.

REIV President Adrian Jones said that the REIV March Quarter medians had shown the benefit of the First Home buyer assistance, and the extension of the bonus by the State Government was very welcome given the uncertainty around the Federal Government’s Boost.

“The fact that the bonus will be extended is great news for prospective home buyers as they won’t need to rush to complete a home purchase before 30 June.

“The State Government has advised it will extend the Bonus in this budget but has not revealed by how much or for how long. I encourage the Treasurer to tell Victorians of how much the Bonus will be and for how much longer it will operate.

“In making decisions about the assistance provided to first home owners it’s important that the bonus is available for new and established homes.

“Along with thousands of prospective first home buyers we look forward to details about the Bonus and the Federal Government’s Boost.

“From an overall perspective there is no doubt that the long term strength of the local property market will be influenced by the health of the economy and today’s budget was focused on keeping the local economy healthy.

“If Victoria is going to weather the storm then the government needs to make shrewd long term decisions to invest in employment generating projects and they are doing just that.

“The REIV also agrees with the recent statements by the Victorian Government that it would like to stop charging stamp duty and have it replaced by a share of the Federal Government’s income taxation. Now is the time to implement structural reforms to the state’s taxation base – after all we have seen an $842.2 million hole in the state’s revenue created by the economic downturn,” Mr Jones concluded