New South Wales Government has announced it is abolishing stamp duty on new and existing for first home buyers for properties costing up to $650,000 from 1 July. First home buyers will receive discounts on stamp duty for properties worth up to $800,000.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said her government will also abolish the 9 per cent stamp duty charged on lender’s mortgage insurance which is required where buyers pay less than 20 per cent deposit to buy a property.
Announcing her plan to make housing affordable, the Premier announced doubling the stamp duty surcharge for foreign buyers to 8 per cent and land tax surcharge to 2 per cent from 0.75 per cent.
The government will also do away with stamp duty concessions for off the plan properties. Local investors buying off the plan currently receive a concession which is being removed to give the first home buyers more competitive advantage.
However, Premier Berejiklian, when asked, said negative gearing had only limited impact on housing affordability.
"I don't feel any of those things touch the sides. I think what touches the sides is supply, supply, supply. Let's be honest about that." the AFR quoted her as saying.
The premier is hoping the measure will help first home buyers get on to the property ladder and bring thousands more first home buyers into the market where the median home price is well over a million dollars.
Currently, first home buyers in NSW receive a stamp duty exemption on new homes valued up to $550,000 and vacant land valued up to $350,000.
The state government is also committing an extra $3 billion for infrastructure investment to support more housing supply and development.
Earlier this year, Victoria abolished stamp duty for first home buyers on properties worth up to $600,000 discounts on duty for homes between $600,000 and $750,000. The Victorian government also doubled the first home owners grant to $20,000 for new houses bought in regional Victoria.
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