Broader focus to SA First Homebuyer assistance

HomeStart is a statutory authority created in 1989 by the South Australian government that balances commercial and social objectives to assist homebuyers into their first property.

John Oliver, chief executive officer, said the 2012/2013 results place the organisation in a great position to broaden its focus in the next year to appeal to a larger range of homebuyers.

“Helping first home buyers will continue to be an important part of our business, but we’re also seeking to raise the awareness of our product options in order to help more South Australians into home ownership sooner,” he said.

According to Mr Oliver, more and more prospective homebuyers are contacting HomeSmart for its wider range of products, something the organisation is hoping to build on in 2014.

“Our key difference is that we provide innovative financial solutions - from repayments that aren’t solely tied to interest rate fluctuations through to low deposit options and shared equity products - as well as more traditional lending products,” he said.

Mr Oliver said the second half of the 2012/2013 financial year saw strong demand for loans for construction purposes, with HomeStart experiencing a 50 per cent increase in these types of loans.

“This growth in loans for construction purposes was clearly driven by the state government’s reforms introduced in October 2012 to boost the construction sector,” he said.

“We strongly promoted these reforms as well as continuing to accept the grants towards our customers' deposit requirements, something many other financial institutions don’t do”.

Since its inception HomeStart has assisted more than 63,500 households into home ownership

Written by Staff Reporter

Last Updated: 09 March 2022

Published: 19 December 2013