Master Builders Australia believes that the Federal Government’s announcement of the HomeBuilder scheme will be a massive relief to the 1000s of home builders and tradies around the country.
Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia said “HomeBuilder will be a lifeline for an industry facing a valley of death in the coming months. It will mean more new homes, more small businesses and jobs are protected and provide a stronger bridge to economic recovery for our country.”
Master Builders Australia has estimated the scheme will be used for $10 billion in building activity, based on the government prediction of 27,000 grants.
This will help keep 368,000 small builders and tradies in business, Wawn said.
“The scheme is well targeted and should maximise the number of builders, tradies, workers, apprentices and households that will benefit,” she added.
Franchise building firm Hotondo Homes has welcomed the news.
Richard Linton, Hotondo Homes national sales manager told Inside Franchise Business Executive there’s excitement among franchisees and builders in the network.
” This scheme won’t just benefit the business, it will also have a huge impact on the broader community.
It’s an incentive to get people that may have been thinking about taking that first step finally get
onto the property ladder. It’s a great opportunity to move forward, because buying a home is the
great Australian dream that we all aspire to.”
Wawn said the eligibility criteria mean that the vast majority of Australians will be able to access the scheme. More than 80 per cent of households have income of $200,000 or less.
“The scheme is structured to get building activity going immediately and to provide safeguards around quality and consumer protection. Making HomeBuilder grants accessible through state and territory channels should streamline its rollout and building work must be carried out by a registered or licensed builder,” she said.
Q&A with Hotondo Homes
Richard Linton, Hotondo Homes national sales manager.
Is the cost of the grant prohibiting?
One of the benefits of the HomeBuilder scheme is that it’s not restrictive of location, so its going to
service our target market very well, and the savings are huge when paired with some of the other
First Home Owner Grants that are offered by the individual states.
How has business been over past couple of months?
We have seen a reduction in clients moving to pay a fee or deposit, however those that were already
moving through the administration process were not impacted, we were able to offer many of our
services through online platforms. Our building workflow was only slightly impacted due to social
distancing guidelines.
What difference this is going to make to the industry?
It will make a huge difference, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I believe families will be
rallying around their children to ensure they can enter the property market.
On franchise recruitment opportunities
Chris O’Dwyer, Hotondo Homes network performance manager explains how will this impact the franchise aspect of the business.
“Our franchise recruitment team sees this announcement as a very important milestone. We’re
anticipating to see an influx of people entering the property market, and we are going to need
experienced builders to help service them, so this is a great opportunity to expand our network.
“The eligibility criteria has certainly opened up the market and means more people will be able to get
their foot in the door.
“It’s a massive boost for builders, particularly in those regional areas that will benefit from both the
HomeBuilder scheme and the state specific First Home Owner grants, and our recruitment team has
already been inundated with questions from builders in regional areas in terms of how this
announcement could assist them in growing their business.”
