First-time home purchasers in New South Wales are set to benefit from legislative amendments poised to be presented in Parliament this week. The adjustments are to the First Home Buyer Assistance scheme, with the stamp duty exemption limit rising from $650,000 to $800,000.
Furthermore, stamp duty concessions will now apply within a bracket of $800,000 to $1 million. With these new regulations, potential homeowners buying a property at $800,000 stand to pocket up to $31,090 in savings.
A secondary modification extends the mandatory residency period in the property from half a year to a full year, an initiative designed to bolster the scheme’s effectiveness and precision.
Beginning July 1, 2023, a predicted 84% of new first-home buyers, roughly five out of every six, will either completely avoid tax or benefit from a reduced stamp duty rate.
Premier of NSW, Chris Minns, said this is a fairer and simpler system, aimed at broadening the accessibility of the housing market for first-time buyers. “The ambition to own one’s first home is a challenge I fully grasp. My goal is to facilitate this dream for more individuals, couples, and families,” he stated.
The proposed legislation is also set to feature provisions to safeguard first-home buyers who have previously subscribed to the annual property tax, permitting them to keep paying that tax until they sell their property. Hence, access to the former government’s First Home Buyer Choice (FHBC) scheme will be closed as of 1 July 2023.
The Treasurer of NSW, Daniel Mookhey, said that these policy amendments are most likely to aid first-time home buyers who are at the brink of being priced out of the housing market due to rising interest rates. “Compared to the property tax that benefited a smaller group of first-home buyers, the revised stamp duty exemptions and concessions present a more straightforward and equitable solution to assist a larger number of first-home buyers,” he said.
The table below shows how much first-home buyers will be able to save under the new rules:
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