By Robert Carry

The government's proposed capping of the First Home Owner Grant, which will see the introduction of a house price limit above which the grant will not be available, will not negatively impact house sales, the opposition has claimed.

The government is set to implement changes to the programme initially introduced to boost the property industry during the economic downturn. According to opposition housing spokesman Scott Morrison, the change will not impact uptake of the scheme.

"The introduction of caps of say $750,000 in Sydney... and $1m in Queensland... will have little impact on the number of grants issued," he said.

The $7,000 grant will now only be available to first-time homebuyers with properties valued at under $1m in Queensland, $750,000 in New South Wales, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and $600,000 in Victoria. According to the Australian Financial Review, South Australia and the ACT are yet to confirm whether they will implement the cap.

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