First homebuyers await decision on boost

The Real Estate Institute of Australia is urging the Federal Government to extend its First Home Owner Boost beyond June 30, when the expanded grant scheme is due to end.

Speculation has been running hot about whether the government will extend the boost, which has been in place since late last year and involves doubling the First Home Owner Grant to $14,000 for buyers of existing property and tripling it to $21,000 for new homes.

Last week, asked about whether the grant would be extended, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told journalists in Perth that "all good things at some stage come to an end", prompting media reports that the boost would end as scheduled at the end of the financial year.

However, other media reports quoted government insiders as saying the current scheme would be renewed in a slightly changed form to encourage new building.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) says that as far as it's aware, the government hasn't made a formal decision on the future of the boost.

REIA president David Airey met Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek this week to press its case that the expanded grant scheme run past its June 30 deadline.