Victorian first-home buyers offered $60,000 discount on house and land packages

Stockland is cutting $40,000 from the cost of a block of land and partnering with builders including Simonds, Henley Homes, Metricon and Homebuyers Centre to take a further $20,000 off the cost of building for Victorians looking to make a start on the property ladder.

The offer comes as Victoria’s housing market struggles to ramp up to a government goal of 80,000 new homes being built a year.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released last week show 4589 new houses and units were approved for construction in Victoria across August, down about 140 (3 per cent) from the month prior.

At these levels, the state would likely green light just 55,000 new homes in the next 12 months — well short of the 80,000 target set out in the Victorian Housing Statement in 2023.

While the ABS data shows the number of houses approved increased in the past month, despite a drop in units being given the green light, developers are looking to boost sales in new estates.

Stockland Victorian communities general manager David Allington said the discount, combined with the state government’s $10,000 First Home Owner Grant, would give would-be buyers $70,000 in assistance.

Homes will be available with a $60,000 first-home buyer discount in Stockland’s Grand Central estate in Tarneit. Picture: realestate.com.au

It will apply to more than 100 house and land packages across the developer’s Victorian communities, with reduced prices to run from the low $400,000s to $650,000 — most in the middle of that range.

Homes will range from two- to four-bedrooms in size, the majority single storeys in order to guarantee they can be completed by Christmas next year.

About 50% of the inquiries Stockland receives are from prospective first-home buyers, but only a quarter of purchasers are market entrants.

MORE: Why Victoria is the state of choice for first-home buyers

Mr Allington said this indicated deposits and borrowing capacity remained an issue for those looking to make a start in Victoria, and were making it an “outlier” compared to the rest of the nation.

“There’s still a will, and a need, for home ownership — they just need some help with the way to get into it,” Mr Allington said.

He added that the state’s fundamentals were still good with population growth and employment strong.

The $60,000 offer will also encourage more homes to be built, helping to address the core issue of Victoria’s housing crisis — too few residences.

Stockland’s Cloverton estate in Kalkallo will also have homes available for a discount for first-home buyers. Picture: realestate.com.au

Stockland will review the offer in mid-November.

However land sales experts believe it is just the beginning, with RPM Real Estate director Luke Kelly noting discounts around 7% of the cost of a full package, about $25,000 in most instances, were increasingly common across housing developments in Melbourne and Geelong.

Mr Kelly said the discounts were likely to continue for the next year though might not be as large as $60,000 for long if the Reserve Bank made borrowing money cheaper.

Real Estate Institute of Australia president Leanne Pilkington said with supply a constant talking point in discussions of how to fix the nation’s housing crisis, the Stockland offer was “fantastic news” and showed the private sector could be part of the solution.

PropTrack economic research executive director Cameron Kusher said first-home buyers needed help.

“First homebuyers are feeling the pressure of interest rates and cost of living and can really use the extra support to make their home ownership dreams come true."

This article first appeared on realestate.com.au and has been republished with permission.