Renewed interest came as one of the state's largest developers vowed not to hike up property prices to take advantaged of suddenly cashed-up home buyers returning to Sydney's receding property market.
The mini-property boom was the most tangible sign yesterday that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's $10.4 billion economic rescue package was already taking effect.
Apart from cash incentives to families and older Australians, the package doubled the first home buyers grant to $14,000 for existing homes and trebled it to $21,000 for new homes.
Landcom marketing general manager Robert Sullivan said they would continue offering up to $16,000 worth of rebates on new house and land packages on top of the increased first home owner grants - giving up to $37,000 extra cash to new buyers.
"We will not be making any changes to rebates we've currently got on the market," Mr Sullivan said.
"Customers out there have been doing a lot of due diligence looking around and shopping around for the best deals. It would be very dumb of the market to pass on the new grants in a price increase.''
For the past year developers have been offering their own cash rebates to home buyers to stimulate the market and with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's increased grants, potential buyers in two minds have been tipped into action.
Cornish Group sales manager Colin Lake, offering 1200 house and land packages in Camden's new Spring Farm estate, said they had been flooded by approaches from first home buyers.
"We've had an instant response in just the past two days and the phones have been running hot with younger buyers asking how they can make it work,'' Mr Lake said.
"First home buyers have been coming into our office which is unusual for us as it's usually only second and third home buyers that can afford a new home. But the $21,000 is effectively the full 5 per cent deposit on a $420,000 package.''
Mt Annan couple Greg and Melinda Sinclair have wanted to buy a family home for several years, but the trebling of the first home buyers' grant has made their mind up.
The public servant and at-home mum to Cameron, 4, and April, 2, are sick of rising rents and want a place of their own.
"Between the first home buyers grant and interest rates starting to go down we are finally able to buy a place now,'' Mr Sinclair said.
"And Clarendon Homes are also giving us another $7000 rebate, so it's $28,000 we will be saving.
"I think a lot of people will jump into the market thanks to the grant, whether the houses are new or used.''
A spokeswoman for the NSW Office of State Revenue, which administers the first home buyers grant, said they would update their websites with the full details once they came available.
