New home grants yet to deliver boost to northern suburbs housing industry New house approvals in the north stagnating despite grants lifted last October. Bricklayer Scott Darling. NORTHERN builders say increases in government grants last year are yet to have an impact on the housing industry but they are confident a mini-boom is around the corner. Since the introduction of an $8500 grant for new home builders in October, 165 houses have been approved in the Salisbury district. That compared with 191 for the same period last year. In the Playford area, 1096 houses have been built since the grants, compared to 1620 during the same period the year before - a decrease of 32.3 per cent. In January there were 709 dwelling approvals in SA, down 0.1 per cent on the same time in 2012. Frank Nesci Homes manager Jamie Nesci said more people were asking about building a home, which showed there was potential for growth. "There seems to be a lot of confidence in the market due to the grants," Mr Nesci said. The December quarter was quite hard for builders (but) we are back up and running to start this year. I haven't seen a great rise in volume but the grants provide homebuyers with a little bit of kicker. Aspire Homes property consultant Daniel Otto said his company had performed well in January but said the grants were yet to have much of an effect. "If anything, it has probably got people talking about (purchasing a house), which results in confidence in the industry," Mr Otto said. Hillbank bricklayer Scott Darling said the industry had needed a shot in the arm and the grants had helped lift morale among sub-contractors. "Things have been a little slow but it hasn't been too bad for me," Mr Darling said. It's not crazy and we aren't breaking any records but there is some work starting to flow through. SA Real Estate Institute chief executive Greg Troughton said when the grants were introduced there was a buzz and agents reported a lift in volume. "If confidence is up, then it flows through, and for real estate agents, whether it's old or new, the clock is turning," Mr Troughton said. Housing Industry Association economist Geordan Murray said it was difficult to gauge how much the grants had helped, but said the early signs were promising. "In terms of new homes, the number of approvals in February was the highest monthly result since mid-2011," Mr Murray said.