First home buyers shun First Home Saver Account

Hundreds of eager first homebuyers attended auctions and property inspections over the weekend, in an attempt to cash in on the government's temporary first home owner grant increase.

However, the enthusiasm did not extend to the governments first home saver accounts scheme, which was launched on 1 October as a medium-to-long term initiative to curb affordability.

Wakelin Property Advisor Director Monique Wakelin, said the grant increase which meant first homebuyers were eligible to receive twice to three times the traditional amount, had had an inflationary effect that worked against the benefits of the savers accounts.

She told The Australian Financial Review that the increase was a "knee-jerk" attempt to stimulate the property market and had "obliterated any beneficial effect the first home saver account was originally designed to offer".