Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and housing minister Tanya Plibersek yesterday launched the Housing Affordability Fund, a $512 million initiative to help cut planning and infrastructure costs in new housing developments.
The government claims that tens of thousands of new home buyers will benefit from the fund, with savings coming from grants of up to $10,000 per home, reduced holding costs and contributions from other levels of government.
Mr Rudd said the grants, which are available for state, territory and local governments as well as private companies, would be targeted towards areas with high demand for new, entry-level housing.
“Applicants will have to be able to demonstrate that their cost savings are passed on to new home buyers,” he said.
The fund will also address upfront costs of developing that are passed on to home buyers, such as sewerage, roads and parks, and will allocate $30 million towards fast tracking a national electronic assessment system to improve the efficiency of the development paper trail.
Published: 16-09-08
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