Welcome to nestegg’s weekly round-up of the bricks-and-mortar stories that we think will be most relevant to you, whether as a first-home buyer, a seasoned investor or anyone in between!  

To compile this list, not only are we taking a look at the week’s most-read stories and the news that matters, but we are also curating it to include stories from our sister platforms that could have an impact on your buying, selling or investment journey, no matter where you find yourself on the property ladder.

1. REIA backs HomeBuilder package

The REIA said the HomeBuilder package will go a long way in supporting the residential building sector by providing assistance to owner-occupiers to build new homes and renovate existing ones.

“The REIA believes [it] will be a massive boost to the employment of home builders and tradesmen at a time when a major driver of economic activity was stalling,” president Adrian Kelly said.

2. Do’s and don’ts of the HomeBuilder scheme

There are plenty of options available for savvy owner-occupiers to receive terrific “bang for their HomeBuilder grant buck” and add value to their home, a buyer’s agent has flagged.

3. WA retains most affordable state title

Western Australia has been declared the most affordable state for buyers and tenants for the 11th consecutive quarter.

4. True lockdown impact won’t be understood for months

According to REINZ’s new Residential Confidence Report to understand the impact COVID-19 has had on the housing market and track recovery, the COVID-19 pandemic is entirely unprecedented, with little to compare with, therefore its impact can’t be immediately understood.

“Naturally, some of the indicators became quite marked during April, including a dramatic drop in sales volumes and the percentage of auctions held – although this isn’t entirely surprising given the lockdown. Additionally, median days to sell and listings increased and there was a slight falling in the sales price to valuation ratio,” Bindi Norwell, chief executive at REINZ, said.

5. Agency unveils 100% commission offering

A new earning scheme will see @realty agents given the ability to earn 100 per cent commission on their property sales.

The scheme will see agents who have paid $20,000 in service fees through their standard commission become eligible to retain 100 per cent of the commission earned on any further deals.

6. Who are HomeBuilder’s big winners and losers?

With a tight time frame and the restrictive eligibility criteria, there could be more losers than winners from the Morrison government’s HomeBuilder scheme.

7. Government extends instant asset write-off deadline

The federal Treasurer has extended the $150,000 instant asset write-off scheme by six months to help businesses buy new and second-hand assets and help improve cash flow.

The federal government first increased the instant asset write-off threshold from $30,000 to $150,000 and expanded access to include businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $500 million (up from $50 million) until 30 June 2020 – as part of the government’s first “targeted” $17.6-billion stimulus package in response to COVID-19.

8. Broker market share hit by ‘blowout’ in turnaround times

A spike in processing times for mortgage applications has contributed to a decline in the share of broker-originated loans.

The latest data commissioned by the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia has revealed that brokers originated $49 billion in loans in the three months to 31 March 2020, up 20 per cent from $40.8 billion in the previous corresponding period – a record high for the March quarter.

9. HomeBuilder could ‘intensify’ slide in property prices

The federal government’s new housing stimulus could have an adverse impact on residential property prices and produce a “negative wealth effect” despite the assistance it will provide the residential construction sector, according to AMP chief economist Shane Oliver.

10. Quantum to pay $700k for misleading property investors

Quantum Housing has been ordered to pay $700,000 in penalties after the Federal Court found that it made false or misleading representations relating to the National Rental Affordability Scheme.

The group failed to tell investors that it had commercial links with the property managers it recommended and told some investors that their existing property manager “had not properly managed their property’s compliance with the NRAS, when this was not true”, according to a statement provided by the ACCC.