The effect of the first homebuyers grant should be felt well into next year, Federal Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek says.

First homebuyers made up a record proportion of loans secured in April, rising 0.9 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today.

It was the seventh consecutive month that demand for mortgages grew.

"It shows that the first home owners boost has made a difference to housing starts in Australia," Ms Plibersek said.

"That is very important for people, to be able to buy their first home.

"It is also very important to keep Australian tradies at work ... these flow-on effects in employment are phenomenally important."

Ms Plibersek said the impact from the grant would carry into next year.

"It's very important to have an end date to stimulus measures," Ms Plibersek said.

"If you have an open-ended stimulus measure, it doesn't encourage people to buy housing now, which is when we need that effect in the economy."

It was unclear in April whether the Rudd Government would extend its more generous grant beyond June 30 in the May Budget, which may have caused a further spurt of interest in securing properties to beat the deadline.

In the event, Treasurer Wayne Swan extended the increased grant until September 30, after which it is to be scaled back over the rest of the year before returning to pre-October 2008 levels next year.

The grant was doubled to $14,000 for established homes and trebled to $21,000 for new properties as part of the Government's first stimulus package in October last year.

After September 30 it will be reduced to $10,500 for established homes and $14,000 for new homes until December 31, before returning to its original $7000 next year.

ADELAIDE AAP