First Home Owners Grant pick-up rate continues to soar

First home buyers are jumping at the chance to enter the property market with official figures showing nearly 30,000 people have accessed the beefed-up First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) since its inception.

While 5,383 people received the grants in November 2008, the pace heated up to over 12,000 applications in January 2009, Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek revealed today.

Between mid October 2008 and the end of January 2009, 29,489 first home buyers took advantage of the government incentive, with the majority of those in New South Wales.

The inflated first home owner grants, which were introduced by the Rudd government in October 2008 to simulate the property market, are due to come to an end in June this year.