Less than five of the 25,000 applications to the State Government’s $20,000 building bonus have been processed, as reports increase of home builders being stung with additional costs months after signing their building contracts.

Earlier this week, it was reported some building companies increased their prices by up to 5% on their clients, leaving them hung out to dry.

120,000 applications for the Federal Government’s $25,000 Home Builder grant have also been received since the scheme launched last June.

Executive Director of the Housing Industry Australia WA, Cath Hart, spoke to Oliver Peterson on Perth LIVE.

“No one predicted how popular these schemes would be. But also, no one predicted what that impact would be, in terms of builders and processing,” she said.

“It’s not just any one builder, it’s not a particular class of builders. This is a wide spread, statewide problem and that’s because we’re really grappling with the huge volume of applications coming through, disruptions to global supply chains, and that huge cost escalation.”

Ms Hart believes the delays are due to a combination of reasons.

“Because of the huge influx of work across the whole value chain we have seen delays,” she said. “It also includes delays getting financed, delays getting through shires, and things around land title settling.”

WA currently has the highest uptake of the Home Builder scheme.

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