Boom defies gloom

By Kelly Yates
FIRST home buyers in the City of Casey have defied the gloom of the Global Financial Crisis by using assistance from the Victorian and Federal governments to buy more homes last year than in any other year on record.
A number of suburbs in Casey made the top 10 list of postcodes where first home buyers used the grants.
Cranbourne was fourth with 1210 grants issued and Narre Warren and Fountain Gate came in ninth with 568 grants.
Narre Warren’s Frank Facey First National Real Estate principal Ross Neilson said that at the beginning of last year first home buyers were spending between $300,000 and $350,000 for a property in Narre Warren.
“By the end of the year, they were spending anywhere from $350,000 to $450,000,” he said.
“Throughout the year there were simply more buyers than stock available.”
Mr Neilson said the house market was the strongest in the area in 2009.
“More people under the age of 30 were taking advantage of the first home buyers grant but it also gave some older people the chance to buy their first house,” he said.
Premier John Brumby said Victoria had the most generous first home buyers assistance of any Australian state, helping a record 53,730 Victorians into their first home, demolishing the previous records of 43,688 first home buyers in 2001 and 41,615 in 2007.
“This is compelling evidence that our plan to fight the Global Financial Crisis is working and securing Victorian jobs,” Mr Brumby said.
“Last year we gave an extra boost for those Victorians wanting to build their own homes and 15,575 Victorians signed up to build, helping to create jobs for Victoria’s building tradespeople.”