The first home buyers grant for regional Victoria was doubled to $20,000 at of the start of the 2017/18 financial year and by the end of 2017 104 Ballarat buyers had made use of the grant.  A further 20 took up the offer in the Moorabool Shire, while four buyers purchased in the Hepburn Shire. 

Across the first half of the financial year more than 900 people made the most of the boosted grant, almost three times the amount for the same time last year. 

In a statement acting Regional Development Minister Ben Carroll said “by doubling this grant, we’re giving young people in regional Victoria even more reason to live locally – making it easier for them to build their first home”. 

“Importantly, we’re not making these changes in isolation.  As our regional communities grow, we’re also investing in public transport, local roads, and the schools and hospitals they need.”

On top of the doubled first home owners grant, stamp duty was also abolished from both new and existing homes worth less than $600,000 in an effort to ease the stress on people getting into the property market.

Stamp duty was also reduced on properties  worth less than $750,000.  In the six months following the changes 294 properties in the Ballarat municipality have been exempt from stamp duty, while more than 9000 were exempt across the state. 

Buninyong MP Geoff Howard said the changes mean “more young families in Ballarat have achieved the dream of owning their own home”.