NSW first-home buyers have a month left to secure stamp duty concessions on established homes
It is just 31 days before the NSW government limits first-home buyer full stamp duty concessions to those buying newly constructed houses and units.
From January 1, 2012 first-home buyers will no longer have their stamp duty fully subsidised by the state government if they buy established homes.
First-home buyers who buy established houses or apartment next year will forego up to $17,990 in stamp duty exemption.
Purchases must be exchanged before January 1, but can settle later next year.
The measure was unveiled by Treasurer Mike Baird in the Coalition’s first budget in office on September 6 this year.
"We recognise this is a difficult decision, but we believe it is necessary to make buying a new house relatively more attractive than buying an existing dwelling for first-home buyers," Baird advised.
“The government has therefore decided that from 1 January next year, while all eligible first-home buyers will continue to receive the $7,000 first-home owner’s grant, eligibility for additional stamp duty concessions will be limited to those purchasing newly constructed homes, including ‘off the plan’,” the Treasurer said.
Baird predicted the first-home buyer housing market would spike up until January 1 as a result of the change and claimed that after January 1 more much-needed new homes would be built.
Some estate agents have held first-home buyer auctions to engender a competitive element for their listings, but there appears not to have been a herd of buyers paying silly prices.
First-home benefits of up to $24,990 have been available, including the $7,000 first-home owner grant and a duty exemption of up to $17,990 under the First Home Plus Scheme.
The $7,000 first-home buyer grant will continue to be available to all eligible first-home buyers in 2012.
