The number of first-home buyers in the state shot up 105% over the last year
First-home buyers are driving the housing market recovery in Western Australia, with WA government data showing a near-record $6 million in Home Buyers Association Account (HBAA) grants paid last financial year.
Damian Collins, president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, said the WA government had helped more than 3,000 West Australians buy their first home during the 2020-2021 financial year.
“The dream of homeownership is alive and well in WA,” Collins said. “While in many parts of Australia – particularly the east coast – first-home buyers are being priced out of the market, WA is the most affordable place in the country to buy your first home.”
The WA government’s HBAA program provides grants of up to $2,000 for eligible buyers. The scheme distributed a total of $6.035 million to 3,093 first-home buyers in the 2020-21 financial year, coming in just below the record of $6.3 million in 2012-13.
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The Real Estate Institute of Australia’s Housing Affordability Report for the March quarter showed that the number of first-home buyers in WA shot up 105% over the last year. First-home buyers accounted for 48.5% of all sales in WA’s owner-occupier market.
“WA had the highest portion of first-home buyers in its owner-occupier market of any state in the country during the March 2021 quarter,” Collins said. “It’s wonderful that so many West Australians were able to move into homeownership during the last year. REIWA commends the WA government for helping make homeownership attainable for first-home buyers.”
