Newcastle home owners have rushed to renovate and extend since the government announced its HomeBuilder grants in June.
The number of development applications lodged with Newcastle council for alterations and additions has risen 37.5 per cent to 473 since the federal government announced the $25,000 grants on June 4.
The dollar value of those development applications is up 35.9 per cent between June 4 and December 18 compared with the corresponding period last year.
"As the city's DA data shows, there appears to be an increasing appetite for residential investment in both the central business district and suburbs, driving stimulus in the local economy at a time it's needed most," a City of Newcastle spokesperson said.
The renovation grants apply only to work worth more than $150,000 and on properties worth less than $1.5 million.
Lake Macquarie City Council could not provide a breakdown of residential development applications but said the number of all developent applications was up 26 per cent from June 4 to December 21 compared with the corresponding period in 2019.
The council received 1590 development applications between those dates in 2018, 1221 in 2019 and 1620 this year.
The government announced in November that it would extend the HomeBuilder scheme until March 31 but cut the grants to a maximum $15,000 from January 1.
The Housing Industry Association says new home building approvals in the Hunter were up 18 per cent in the last quarter compared with the September quarter a year ago.
For faster access to the latest Newcastle news download our NEWCASTLE HERALD APP and sign up for breaking news, sport and what's on sent directly to your email.
IN THE NEWS:
