An outrageous amount of grant money is available to first home buyers in a new inner-city south 102-unit development – no catch.
The developer behind an eight-storey, 102-unit mixed-use residential development in Brisbane’s inner-south has announced a $15,000 sweetener for first homebuyers which, combined with other grants, equates to a staggering $55,000 leg-up of aspiring owners.
With about 30 of the units qualifying for the Developer Grant, mostly one-and two-bedroom, this equates to a $450,000 hit for developers Karam Group on its Maasra Apartments Coorparoo project at 212 – 220 Old Cleveland Rd.
Anthony Karam, who owns the company alongside brother Jason, said the additional $15,000 Developer Grant, which matches the State Government’s First Home Owners’ Grant and is in addition to the Federal Government’s $25,000 HomeBuilder Grant, was decided after the pair saw how badly COVID-19 battered the economy.
“Young people are struggling,” he said.
“We’re doing what we can to contribute towards helping people get into the market for the first time.”
Construction of Maasra Apartments began in earnest in September, with cranes erected in the past few weeks following the pouring of the first basement slab.
The project was approved in February last year and will also include a 25m pool, a residents’ lounge, barbecue and seating areas, a gymnasium and commercial office space, a boutique retail precinct on the ground floor, and a restaurant facing Holdsworth St overlooking new parkland linking Old Cleveland Rd to Coorparoo Creek Park.
Coorparoo development. Maasra Apartments approved and about to start pre-construction works. Thursday, May 23, 2019 Brothers Jason and Anthony Karam pose for a photograph at their display office in Coorparoo. (AAP Image/Renae Droop)
Mr Karam said they are aiming for completion in September – October next year, slightly later than previous reports indicated.
He said some 60 per cent of units have already been sold off-the-plan, with more sold on the north-facing side than the south.
In addition to the $55,000 available to eligible first homeowners, the Federal Government has also extended its First Home Loan Deposit Scheme to a further 10,000 first home buyers who have only saved a 5 per cent deposit, guaranteeing their mortgages to help them buy a property worth up to $650,000 sooner without paying lenders mortgage insurance premiums.
There is a December 31 limit for purchasers to be eligible for the $15,000 Developer Grant.
Originally published by Alex Treacy in Quest Newspapers, Courier Mail Online HERE.
