Prime Minister John Howard has ruled out a change to the level of the first home owners' grant. Mr Howard said on Monday it was sometimes suggested the amount of money available through the scheme, which gives first home owners $7,000 towards buying a property, should be increased. But he said the current level was sufficient. "I know from time to time that people suggest that it should, on an ongoing basis, be higher, and the government continues to receive those recommendations, but we think the current level is appropriate," Mr Howard told the Housing Industry Association of NSW. But he said private home ownership was a central part of modern Australia. He also said the barriers faced by younger Australians trying to enter the property market would not be resolved by changing existing taxation arrangements like negative gearing or capital gains tax exemptions. Treasurer Peter Costello ruled out scrapping the first home owners' grant earlier this year despite concerns from the Reserve Bank about the disproportionate amount of money Australians had poured into housing compared to other investment areas. The federal government has also previously rejected Productivity Commission advice blaming tax breaks for property investors for fuelling the house price boom. Source:AAP