NT Confirms $50,000 HomeGrown Territory Grant, the Nation’s Largest First Home Incentive

The Northern Territory Government has confirmed that its HomeGrown Territory program will open for applications on Tuesday 1 October 2024, delivering on the Country Liberal Party’s signature housing commitment from the August election.

Announced on 25 September, the package offers first home buyers a HomeGrown Territory Grant of $50,000 to buy or build a new home, or $10,000 to buy an established home. In a first for the Territory, a FreshStart New Home Grant of $30,000 will also be available to buyers who have owned property before, provided they buy or build a new home.

How the scheme works

• Applications open on 1 October 2024 and the program runs for 12 months, to 30 September 2025.
• There is no cap on the purchase or build price.
• Successful applicants must live in the home for at least 12 months.
• Eligibility is limited to Australian citizens and permanent residents.
• The government has committed $20 million and says it will reallocate funding if required.

Amendments to the First Home Owner Grant Act 2000 were expected to be introduced in the October sittings of parliament. The government said applications received from 1 October would be honoured ahead of the legislation passing.

The pitch to buyers

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro described the program as “the most generous home build scheme in the country”, saying it was intended to attract and retain key workers and families. Treasurer Bill Yan said a 12-month scheme would give buyers certainty and remove the fear of missing out, and argued the grants would stimulate construction and bring new supply into the market.

The scale is unusual by national standards. Before the change, first home buyers purchasing a new home in the Territory could access a $10,000 grant. Queensland’s first home owner grant for new homes, doubled to $30,000 in 2023, was among the most generous elsewhere in the country.

A market that needed a push

The incentive arrives in a market that had lagged the rest of the country. CoreLogic figures cited by Your Mortgage in August showed Darwin’s median dwelling price rose 2.3 per cent over the 12 months to August 2024, to around $507,000. PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo said housing construction in the Territory had recorded the worst decline of any state or territory over the previous year.

First home buyer activity had also faded. PRD data showed about 150 first home buyers entered the Territory market in the March quarter of 2024, down from 201 a year earlier and from a high of 234 in the December quarter of 2023.

The land question

Economists flagged two caveats. The first is land: PRD data showed only 83 new land lots were planned for Darwin in 2024, far fewer than in other capitals, and Dr Mardiasmo noted that unlocking land and approvals sits with government and councils. The second is price: she observed that first home buyer grants have traditionally led to higher house and land prices as demand increases.

Whether HomeGrown Territory lifts supply, or mainly lifts prices, will depend on how quickly serviced land and builders can respond. For buyers, the practical message is clear: from 1 October, building or buying new in the Territory carries the largest government cash incentive available anywhere in Australia.