THE FORMAT HOMES BLOG

THE FORMAT HOMES BLOG

WHY THE $15,000 HOMEBUILDER GRANT EXTENSION IS A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW HOME BUILDERS IN ADELAIDE – AND HAS A HIGHER CEILING THAN YOU MIGHT THINK…

PUBLISHED 05/01/2021

When the State Government introduced the $25,000 Homebuilder Grant last year it was a shot in the arm for the local building industry and a very welcome announcement for South Australians planning to build a new home.

An injection of extra cash can make all the difference for home builders, especially during challenging times, and a comparatively generous $25,000 Homebuilder Grant was enough to get a lot of people in Adelaide across the line and help them to get started on their home projects. So despite 2020 not being a year fondly remembered by many, it was actually a pretty exciting times for people planning to build.

The original grant having proven to be a winner, late last year South Australian Treasurer Mr Rob Lucas announced an extension to Homebuilder, albeit in the shape of a somewhat more modest $15,000 contribution. So there’s still significant money on offer for home builders, and crucially there’s also extra time – those signing between 1 January 2021 and 31 March 2021 will also have their construction timeframe extended from 3 months to 6 months. That’s the sort of grace period that can open up opportunities to work with a builder to take a standard plan to new and exciting places.

“Time is so important when we’re working together with families to build a new home”, says Format Homes Chief Executive, Marco Formato. “Everyone feels confident about a project when there’s enough time to form a kind of working relationship, to get to really understand each other’s needs. Although we offer over a hundred designs, we seldom build to a standard plan. Everyone has their special preferences, and when building is something you’ll probably only do once or twice in your lifetime, of course you’re going to take the opportunity to fine tune a plan and add some special touches of your own. Having a bit of extra time up our sleeves means we can really settle into a discussion about what’s important, discuss what’s possible and customise the plan. It’s actually a really exciting time for both parties. For the home builder family, it’s a chance to create something they feel they’ve really had a hand in. For the team here at Format Homes, it’s an opportunity to stretch ourselves a bit and show what’s possible.”

There’s another facet of the extended Homebuilder Grant that’s of special importance to families who intend to purchase a block with an existing home, demolish it and build a new home. “It’s unusual and it’s not particularly well known”, says Mr Formato, “but situations where a previous building is demolished, and a new home is built on the same site are considered to be renovations. Now, you can invest as much as $1.5 million in a renovation and still qualify for the extended Homebuilder grant. That opens up a world of opportunity, considering the current situation with land availability in Adelaide, and the fact that more and more families are purchasing blocks with existing homes that they intend to demolish.”

The extension of the Homebuilder Grant brings with it plenty of opportunities for families that have been working towards building a new home during a past year that’s been anything but predictable. “I think that the grant extension gets everyone off to an optimistic start in 2020”, says Mr Formato. “It’s a great move by the government, and the extension acknowledges the success of the original grant. We’re excited this year at the thought of working with more families and helping them to discover what they can achieve with the grant and a builder on their side that’s ready to help them understand everything that’s available to them.”

Families are encouraged to CONTACT Format Homes to learn more about the details of the Homebuilder Grant extension.