Home show gets first home buyers off to a great start

Treasurer and Minister for Trade Tim Nicholls today joined a queue of first home buyers for a sneak peek at the new-look $15,000 Great Start Grant campaign at the Brisbane Home Show.

The campaign will also feature TV and online advertising, to be previewed at the Home Show ahead of the March 17 launch date.

The Great Start Grant, formerly known as the First Home Owners Construction Grant, is on offer to first home buyers to build new homes and for new houses, townhouses, apartments and units, including substantial renovations, off-the-plan properties and owner-builder projects valued at under $750,000.

Mr Nicholls said the grant would provide sustained and targeted support for both first home buyers and the construction industry.

“The grant is already up and running, in fact, the property and construction industry has been promoting the grant off its own bat,” Mr Nicholls said.

“However, after testing the market we found we needed to cast our net wider to reach eligible Queenslanders.

“We also needed to speak directly to the experiences and aspirations of Queenslanders striving for their first home – young families and GenYers keen to leave the nest.

“Hence the new name – Great Start Grant.  It says what it does, gives Queenslanders a great start to buying or building their first new home.

“This new grant, together with the Principal Place of Residence Concession which we reintroduced after the previous Labor Government scrapped it, means Queensland is the best place to buy your own home.

“It will help more Queenslanders buy their first home and provide a much needed lift to Queensland’s property and construction industry.”

Visitors to the Home Show can learn all about the grant from the Office of State Revenue team at the Great Start Stand.

The Home Show runs until Sunday 10 March.

For more information, eligibility criteria and an application pack, visit www.osr.qld.gov.au

[ENDS] 3 March 2013

Media Contact: Tim Braban 0413 022 519