Western Sydney suburbs are driving a surge in the take-up of First Home Owner Grants for new homes, making up 70 per cent of the top 20 suburbs claiming the incentive.

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird said the take-up of First Home Owner Grants (FHOG) by residents in the top 20 suburbs had almost tripled in the past three years, rising from 780 in the year to September 2011 to 2,042 in 2013.

This has contributed to a 66 per cent increase in the total number of FHOG for new homes paid in NSW this year, compared with 2011 figures.

“Recent economic indicators suggest the NSW housing sector is improving, and Western Sydney is clearly leading the race,” said Mr Baird.

NSW Office of State Revenue figures reveal Western Sydney suburbs make up 70 per cent of the top 20 suburbs claiming FHOG. Significant increases in the number of FHOG paid for new homes in the past year include:

• Doonside – up 382%
• Rossmore – up 211%
• Blacktown – up 200%
• St Marys – up almost 200%
• Parramatta – up almost 160%
• Liverpool – up almost 130%

“When the NSW Liberals & Nationals came to government the NSW housing sector was at an all-time low, as new housing supply was not keeping up with demand and affordability was low,” said Mr Baird.

“Previous incentives to first homebuyers for existing properties simply increased mortgage sizes, as they increased demand without any boost to housing supply.

“The NSW Government is committed to addressing the housing shortage across the State. That is why we made the very deliberate decision to target first homebuyer incentives towards new homes.

“The success of these initiatives is clear across a range of indicators, and these latest figures show a dramatic increase in the number of first homebuyers in Western Sydney taking advantage of the incentives.”

Mr Baird said the NSW Government had been focused on unlocking new housing lots, particularly in Sydney’s North West and South West Growth Centres, by providing the infrastructure needed to support growth.

“We funded new infrastructure for up to 120,000 new homes in our last two Budgets.  Since the June Budget, the number of new homes released by this infrastructure has jumped to 134,325, with over 92,000 of those homes in Western Sydney.”

“The good news is housing supply is finally rising to meet demand but there is much more work to do.

“Increasing housing supply and choice across the State will help to get more first homebuyers into the housing market sooner, which will have a positive multiplier effect across the NSW economy,” Mr Baird said.

Under the NSW Government’s Building the State package, the First Home Owner Grant for new homes is $15,000. The NSW Government extended this scheme for a further two years in the 2013-14 Budget.

Eligible first homebuyers can also claim stamp duty exemptions or concessions, with a maximum benefit available to first homebuyers of up to $35,240.