KEY POINTS:
Kiwis have yet another reason to move across the Tasman following last week's announcement by the Australian Government of a A$14,000 ($15,925) grant for first-home buyers.
New Zealanders with Australian citizenship or permanent residency who fulfil certain criteria are also eligible for the grants.
Australians fulfilling the same criteria have been eligible since 2000 for a $7000 grant when buying their first homes but - in a move to increase construction and assist first-home buyers struggling with house affordability - the grants were increased to $14,000 last week.
For those buying brand-new homes, the assistance has been raised to $21,000.
An Australian resort owner told the Herald that he had been overwhelmed with requests from New Zealanders since news of the grants doubling hit the headlines last Wednesday.
Dennis Ring, managing director of Over 50s Resorts, a gated community lifestyle village for people aged 50 or older in Queensland, said more than 200 Kiwis had contacted him through his website since then.
"I've been inundated with people on my website asking about these Over 50s Resorts and number one is, 'Can we get the first-home owner's grant?' And yes they can."
The resort is in Ormeau, a five-minute drive from Dreamworld. Homeowners buy their home and pay no rates, but rent the land.
A former Hamilton man living in the resort, Ray Inglis, told the Herald he and his wife moved to Australia four years ago and benefited from a $7000 grant because it was their first home in the country.
Mr Inglis said that while he had enjoyed his time away, he missed the garden he had in New Zealand and was planning on returning soon.
"Financially we're better off here, but it's still not home."
The first-home owner's grant may be offset by a $9000 "stamp duty" - a fee paid by anyone buying a home in Australia.
But the rules vary from state to state, and Mr Ring said that earlier this year stamp duty had been abolished in Queensland.
