Stamp duty relief for first home buyers

Thinking about buying your first home?

A number of recently introduced policies in NSW and Victoria are designed to help first-home owners break into the property market.

  5 minutes

Australia has the dubious honour of having the third most expensive housing market in the world. But NSW and Victoria are putting measures in place to improve housing affordability, including making changes to stamp duty for first-home buyers.

Stamp duty abolished or reduced in NSW

Abolishing or reducing the stamp duty for first-home buyers will help ease the pain for many wanting to buy a property in Sydney, which is ranked the second least affordable housing market in the world. The NSW Government has announced that from 1 July 2017, first-home buyers no longer need to pay stamp duty on new and existing homes worth up to $650,000 - a saving of up to $24,740. The stamp duty on properties valued between $650,00 and $800,000 was also reduced.

In more good news, the NSW Government also removed the nine per cent duty paid on Lenders’ Mortgage Insurance (LMI). All up, this means first-home buyers who put down a deposit of $50,000 on a $650,000 home could save up to $26,857.

Building a new home in NSW? First-home buyers building a new property will receive a $10,000 grant on homes worth up to $750,000. First-home buyers purchasing a new property worth up to $600,000 will also be entitled to a $10,000 grant.

Stamp duty changes in Victoria

Victoria - where Melbourne is ranked the sixth least affordable housing market in the world - has also announced changes to its stamp duty regulations. From 1 July 2017, first-home buyers who purchase a new or established home worth up to $600,000 won’t pay stamp duty so long as they live at the property for at least 12 months. There will also be a sliding scale of stamp duty discounts for first-time buyers who purchase a property valued between $600,000 and $750,000.

If you’re buying a new property valued at less than $750,000, you can also apply for a $10,000 first home owner grant. The grant is doubled to $20,000 if the property is in regional Victoria.

Making housing affordable across Australia

NSW and Victoria are not the only states working to improve housing affordability for residents. There are a raft of grants and concessions aimed at first-home buyers in all Australian states. If you are buying or building a new home in Queensland, the QLD First Home Buyers Grant is a one-off payment of $20,000. Be quick, because it’s only available until midnight on 31 December 2017. After that, the grant reverts back to $15,000. If you’re buying an existing home, you won’t be able to receive this grant but may be eligible for a stamp duty rebate of up to $8,750.

When you buy or build a new home, the first home owner grant will provide:

• $26,000 in the Northern Territory
• $20,000 in Tasmania (until 30 June 2018, then it reverts back to $10,000)
• $15,000 in South Australia
• $10,000 in Western Australia
• $7,000 in the ACT (new and substantially renovated properties valued at up to $750,000).

For more information about changes to stamp duty and other concessions for first-home buyers, visit your local state government website. 

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