Stamp Duty scrapped for NSW first home buyers

The NSW Government has announced new comprehensive measures that are aimed at supporting first home buyers.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who made the announcement on Thursday alongside Minister for Planning and Housing Anthony Roberts, said that she wanted to “ensure that owning a home is not out of reach for people in NSW.”

These new measures include:

• Abolishing all stamp duty for first homebuyers on existing and new homes up to $650,000 and stamp duty discounts up to $800,000;
• Abolishing the stamp duty charged on lenders’ mortgage insurance, which is often required by banks to lend to first homebuyers with limited deposits, providing a saving of around $2,900 on an $800,000 property;
• Doubling the foreign investor surcharge from 4 per cent to 8 per cent on stamp duty and 0.75 per cent to 2 per cent on land tax; and
• Removing stamp duty concessions for investors purchasing off the plan;

These changes, to be introduced on July 1, 2017, will provide savings of up to $24,740 for first homebuyers.

“These measures focus on supporting first home buyers with new and better targeted grants and concessions, turbocharging housing supply to put downward pressure on prices and delivering more infrastructure to support the faster construction of new homes,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“This is a complex challenge and there is no single or overnight solution. I am confident these measures will make a difference and allow us to meet the housing challenge for our growing State.”

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