National Australia Bank (NAB) will fund <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/palmera-residences-gold-coast-18-garfield-terrace-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Palmera</a>, a $1 billion, 52-level luxury residential tower being developed by Central Equity in one of the Gold Coast’s most tightly held coastal locations at Northcliffe.

The project, launched recently by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/central-equity">Central Equity</a>, one of Victoria’s largest private residential developers, comes at a time when construction funding for large residential developments has become increasingly competitive as lenders tighten exposure to the sector.

Multiplex has been appointed the builder, and construction is now underway.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365784]

Since its first project, Central Equity has delivered more than 85 residential developments with a combined end value exceeding $8 billion.

Palmera reflects Central Equity’s growing focus on the Gold Coast luxury apartment market and continues a relationship between Central Equity and NAB that dates back to the late 1980s, when the bank funded one of Melbourne’s earliest inner-city residential towers at a time when high-rise apartment living in the CBD was largely unproven.

“NAB’s funding of Central Equity’s $36 million CBD development in the late 1980’s to the financing of the billion-dollar tower today highlights the long-term relationship between the two organisations in delivering major residential projects” said Central Equity Founder and Chairman Eddie Kutner.

He said NAB’s early support was instrumental in helping establish the company’s development model.

“When we commenced our first residential tower in the late 1980s the concept of funding off-the-plan apartments was still largely untested in Australia,” Kutner said.

“NAB recognised the opportunity early and supported the project when others were uncertain. That relationship has now continued for more than 37 years across many developments.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365771]

Central Equity was established in 1987 when Melbourne’s CBD and Southbank precinct were still dominated by warehouses and commercial buildings. Fewer than 100 residents lived in Southbank at the time, and large-scale residential development in the inner city was not widely considered.

Recognising changing demographics and lifestyle preferences, the company began developing high-rise residential projects designed to bring permanent residents into the city centre.

Central Equity has provided accommodation for approximately 40,000 residents across Melbourne’s CBD and Southbank, while also incorporating supporting infrastructure including essential lifestyle facilities like retail spaces, childcare facilities and neighbourhood activity centres.

Central Equity has spent many years assembling the Palmera development site on the corner of Garfield Terrace and Frederick Street in Northcliffe, creating a supersite of around 3,300 sqm.

The developer said the Palmera apartment tower reflects its long-term view of the Gold Coast as a growing and increasingly diversified economy.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365768]

Supported by infrastructure including the light rail network, major road upgrades expanded education, hospital and medical facilities and continued expansion at the Gold Coast Airport with more internation and domestic flights.

Positioned in the tightly held Northcliffe precinct, the 52-level tower will deliver 347 apartments, targeting buyers seeking a high-end coastal lifestyle, from downsizers to interstate investors.

Designed by Marchese Partners with interiors by DBI, Palmera has been conceived as a next-generation residential offering, featuring a collection of oversized apartments, with premium three-bedroom residences offering sweeping northern views stretching from Surfers Paradise through to Burleigh Heads.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=108274]

Joel Robinson

NAB funds $1 billion Surfers Paradise apartment development, Palmera

Two years after completing one of the newest developments in North Sydney, developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/aqualand-australia">Aqualand</a> is turning its attention to the rapidly evolving St Leonards apartment market.

The developer, which completed AURA by Aqualand on North Sydney's Walker Street, has lodged plans for a 5,918 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/33-37-herbert-street-st-leonards-nsw-2065">33-37 Herbert Street, St Leonards,</a> seeking approval for a pair of residential towers rising above a shared podium opposite Royal North Shore Hospital.

The proposal forms part of the broader transformation underway across the St Leonards-Crows Nest precinct, where former industrial and commercial sites are increasingly being redeveloped into high-density mixed-use projects tied to major transport infrastructure.

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2cc428cf-fe70-4cac-9cd5-264ad53af62c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=otKSnHtbjAvAddOnovyXQMgcAwE6DMe1" />

According to the planning documents, the site sits “within the St Leonards–Crows Nest Strategic Centre, identified by the NSW Government as a key area for accommodating future jobs and housing across Sydney.”

The proposal has been designed by fjcstudio, formerly FJMT Studio, and is being progressed through the State Significant Development pathway due to its scale and affordable housing provision.

The scheme would comprise 413 apartments, including 46 affordable housing units, alongside retail and commercial uses fronting Herbert Street. The project would also include communal open space, landscaping, a swimming pool, gymnasium, children’s play areas and podium-level resident amenities.

Planning documents show the development would consist of a part-13, part-39 storey tower form positioned above a four-storey podium.

“The development comprises a unified podium that activates the street interface, and two setback towers to accommodate new housing supply while maintaining an appropriate human scale at ground level,” fjcstudio noted in its Design Report.

The northern and southern towers have been shaped to respond to the surrounding skyline while also limiting overshadowing impacts to nearby public open space, particularly Talus Reserve.

The design report said the differing tower heights were intended to “contribute to a varied skyline while responding to the surrounding built form context and solar access considerations.”

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="36da62dc-ff9e-41f2-a7e3-7be38373751c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.45%E2%80%AFAM_0.png?VersionId=Mo6Rp2r.XRLTzIfg_PEEpw8NepDH8UBs" />

The site sits directly opposite Royal North Shore Hospital and within walking distance of both St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

While the site itself sits just outside the formal Crows Nest Transport Oriented Development boundary, the planning documents repeatedly reference its alignment with the broader TOD objectives reshaping the Lower North Shore.

“The site is located adjacent to St Leonards Station and in close proximity to Crows Nest Metro which is within the Crows Nest Transit Orientated Development Accelerated Precinct which has been identified by the NSW Government to support housing delivery,” the Design Verification Statement noted.

According to fjcstudio, the project has been designed to respond to the broader transition occurring across St Leonards, where increasing residential density is being concentrated around transport infrastructure and employment hubs.

“The broader precinct is undergoing significant change, with a mix of existing mid-rise buildings and newer high-density developments,” the report stated.

“Recent and approved projects indicate a consistent shift toward taller built form, typically organised as tower-and-podium typologies with more active ground levels.”

The proposal includes close to 6,000 sqm of retail and commercial space across the ground floor and podium levels, designed to create a more activated street edge along Herbert Street.

Aqualand’s plans would also introduce a landscaped podium shared between the two towers, with communal open space in the form of a podium rooftop designed to support resident interaction and improve urban greening outcomes. The scheme would also introduce pocket parks at the northern and southern ends of the site, including a landscaped area at the corner of Herbert and Ella streets designed to improve pedestrian amenity and soften the streetscape.

&nbsp;

The proposal is being progressed through the NSW Government’s Housing Delivery Authority pathway, which was introduced to accelerate housing supply across the state. The application was declared State Significant Development in April 2025 following an expression of interest process.

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="faf6d97d-2671-454f-b85a-fe1c6a7be608" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.49%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=diVd28OBVr5.YV.7prrOz.uAanwwwm7a" />

St Leonards has been particularly active with new developments in recent weeks. Developer SP Setia’s <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-sp-setia-targets-st-leonards-skyline-with-40-storey-tod-tower">plans for a new 42-storey tower</a> recently went on exhibition through the same pathway, while <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">Stockland’s 52-storey tower proposal</a> was also recently unveiled.

Aside from the St Leonards project, which is expected to take around nine months to move through the approvals process ahead of a potential 2027 launch, Aqualand is also preparing to launch Boronia, a new apartment project in Roseville comprising around 111 apartments on Larkin Street.

The developer also has approvals in place for the next stage of the Barangaroo precinct, which will feature new residential, retail, hospitality and community uses, alongside a new metro entry across the five-hectare site.

More than 50 new retail destinations are planned for Central Barangaroo, alongside a 270-metre-long boulevard connecting Hickson Park to Nawi Cove. Together with Harbour Park, more than 50 per cent of the precinct will comprise public open space and parkland.

First look: Aqualand joins St Leonards apartment party

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-5" data-turn="user" data-turn-id="e65dbe94-e3b6-47f7-b62a-9cbb30c9bf79" data-turn-id-container="e65dbe94-e3b6-47f7-b62a-9cbb30c9bf79" dir="auto">Time &amp; Place’s plans to transform the former David Jones factory building in Surry Hills into a mixed-use residential precinct have gone on exhibition through the NSW Government’s In-fill Affordable Housing pathway.</section>

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-6" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:f4d533b7-64a5-413d-86fd-5c99649c2b73-2" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:f4d533b7-64a5-413d-86fd-5c99649c2b73-2" dir="auto">
The Marlborough House proposal, lodged for the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/marlborough-house-47-97-marlborough-street-surry-hills-nsw-2010">47-97 Marlborough Street</a> site, would see the adaptive reuse of the heritage-listed warehouse building alongside the construction of new residential additions and a separate apartment building on the northern portion of the site.

The proposal seeks approval for 172 apartments across three buildings, including 15 per cent affordable housing managed by a community housing provider for at least 15 years from occupation.

<img alt="Marlborough" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5d1d3c2a-bf13-47d6-a335-7c01102cdee1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.36%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=cjMYrbR.BLUlWH4dar0RVDDo0bG.u2YT" />

Interior view from the Northern Building Penthouse overlooking the park

&nbsp;

The redevelopment is planned for the prominent 3,413 sqm site bounded by Marlborough Street, Goodlet Street and Lansdowne Street, directly opposite Eddie Ward Park and around 200 metres from the Surry Hills light rail stop.

Time &amp; Place acquired the former David Jones building in 2024, marking the first time the property had changed hands in around 50 years.

Designed by Wardle, the proposal centres around the adaptive reuse of the former David Jones factory, originally constructed between 1913 and 1935 in the Inter-War Chicagoesque architectural style.

Wardle noted in its Architectural Design Report that the building “occupies a significant place in the industrial and cultural history of Surry Hills” and at its peak was “the largest department store manufacturing facility in Australia, employing over 800 people and fuelling the growth of Sydney’s fashion and retail industries.”

The practice said the project positions itself “not as an isolated intervention, but as a contributor to the civic, social, and architectural grain of the precinct.”

The proposal would deliver 75 apartments within the retained southern heritage building, 59 apartments within the central addition, and a further 38 apartments within the new northern building fronting Lansdowne Street.

Planning documents show the scheme would comprise a mix of heritage apartments, new-build apartments, townhouses and penthouses.

<img alt="Marlborough" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="57758518-40a3-4b83-958c-d06e96a2cffa" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.42%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=VerlX9ST5xgBi8.1_YRsqdWTJeT6ygjs" />Interior View of the Heritage Building Apartment

The development would also include a ground-floor retail tenancy on the corner of Marlborough and Lansdowne streets, rooftop communal open space, a landscaped pedestrian link along the western edge of the site, and basement parking accessed from Lansdowne Street via a car stacker system.

&nbsp;

The scheme emerged from a competitive design process run by Urbis, with Wardle ultimately selected as the winning architect ahead of FJC Studio, TZG, Architectus and Wilkinson Eyre.

The Design Integrity Panel later described several aspects of the Wardle scheme as fundamental to the project, including “the stepped character of the new addition to the north of the site”, the landscaped western pedestrian link, and the “garden arrival” experience separating the original Marlborough House from the heritage addition.

Wardle’s design heavily references the site’s industrial and heritage history, while also responding to the surrounding Surry Hills streetscape.

The Architectural Design Report describes Surry Hills as “a finely grained neighbourhood with beautiful and expressive brickworks throughout the suburb,” with the proposal introducing a material palette intended to sit comfortably alongside the existing warehouse fabric and neighbouring terraces.

The report also outlines the project’s relationship with Eddie Ward Park and the broader landscape context of the area.

“Marlborough House occupies a site of deep cultural memory and the neighbouring Eddie Ward Park is of local ecological significance, where natural systems, topography, and stories have long shaped human experience,” Wardle noted in the report.

The architects said the proposal sought to “rebind built form to Country” through landscape, materiality and the adaptive reuse of the heritage structure.

<img alt="Marlborough House" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9ae3f2f9-c85f-477a-a6f8-b43f6cb97c41" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.53%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=B.qUCLqRvJOR.n9CvYcTpaknIX9LuqKZ" />

The project is also being progressed under the NSW Government’s in-fill affordable housing provisions, allowing developments that include affordable housing to access additional height and floor space incentives.

Under the plans, 2,593 sqm of the project’s floor space would be dedicated to affordable housing, slightly exceeding the required 15 per cent threshold.

In its Design Excellence Strategy, Urbis said the project aimed to “sensitively adapt and enhance the heritage-listed building on site through alterations and additions that preserve its historical significance” while delivering “high-quality market and infill affordable housing development in Surry Hills.”

Time &amp; Place has been one of the most active developers nationally in the last 12 to 24 months. Late last year they completed&nbsp;The Queensbridge in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/southbank-vic-3006">Southbank</a>, a mixed-use tower with 353 apartments and a hotel. They are currently selling Park Modern, 246 apartments near the famous Botanic Gardens in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/south-melbourne-vic-3205">South Melbourne</a>, and have future projects, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-wilmot-173-burke-road-28-hope-street-glen-iris-vic-3146">The Wilmot</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/glen-iris-vic-3146">Glen Iris</a>, the redevelopment of the Northcote Plaza, and another tower in South Melbourne.

The developer broke into Sydney just a few years ago with Two Tides in Manly. They have another project nearby, which is at the ultra-luxury end of the market on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/shoreline-manly-beach-89-90-north-steyne-manly">North Steyne</a>, fronting the beach.

It is also continuing to work through the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-time-place-settles-on-design-for-the-chimes-potts-point-redevelopment">redevelopment of The Chimes building</a> on Macleay Street in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/potts-point-nsw-2011">Potts Point</a>, as well as a project on <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/time-place-to-take-on-mosman-apartment-market">Mosman's Redan Street</a>.
</section>

First look: Time & Place unveils Marlborough House redevelopment designs for former David Jones warehouse in Surry Hills

The residential transformation of St Kilda Road is set to continue into with more new apartment plans for the sought-after boulevard.

Wing Tai Asia has lodged plans for a major residential tower at 464-466 St Kilda Road, replacing the former VACC House with an 18-storey mixed-use development designed around a retained heritage podium and a sculpted contemporary tower.

The proposal, prepared under Victoria’s Significant Residential Development with Affordable Housing pathway, would deliver 325 apartments and ground-floor retail across the prominent 4,653 sqm boulevard site in Melbourne’s St Kilda Road North Precinct.

The project centres on the adaptive reuse of the site’s heritage-listed VACC Building, an eight-storey office designed by Bernard Evans that has occupied the address for decades. Planning documents state the development would involve “carefully dismantling and conserving off-site the original metal fabric of the podium visible from St Kilda Road,” before reinstating it as the defining frontage of the new scheme.

Above the restored podium, Wing Tai is proposing a curvilinear residential tower. The scheme includes 172 one-bedroom apartments, 63 two-bedroom apartments, 66 three-bedroom apartments, and 24 four-bedroom apartments, alongside two ground-floor food and beverage tenancies fronting St Kilda Road.

The tower has been designed with substantial articulation and variable setbacks to minimise perceived bulk and maintain view corridors along the boulevard. Urbis, which prepared the planning report, said the design “has been significantly articulated through a curvilinear design” with “an interplay with materials, façade expression and depth” to create visual separation and visual interest.

The proposal also includes 254 basement car spaces, landscaped pedestrian links connecting St Kilda Road and Queens Lane, and a biophilic landscape strategy featuring canopy trees, raised planters, cascading greenery and a glass oculus pool overlooking the eastern frontage.

Planning documents confirm the $270.1 million development will contribute 3 per cent of project costs to the Social Housing Growth Fund as part of the application process.

Wing Tai acquired the St Kilda Road property in 2018 alongside Abacus Property Group for $95.38 million, before later consolidating ownership of the site. The property previously served as the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce headquarters for around 60 years.

The transformation of the St Kilda Rd boulevard is already beginning to materialise, with a number of high-profile projects recently completed, launched, or approaching launch as developers continue to back the long-term appeal of the precinct.

Among the most notable recent completions is Louise by Samuel Property Group, just off the strip on Queens Lane, the same pocket Hirsch &amp; Faigen recently launched The Queensbury. Mirvac is too on the same street with The Albertine, which is approaching completion.

Dexus recently secured approval for its slice of St Kilda Road, while Gurner also has approved plans for the precinct.

Wing Tai unveils 325-apartment St Kilda Road tower on former VACC House site

Malaysian developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/s-p-setia">SP Setia</a> is the latest to jump into St Leonards booming Transport Oriented Development precinct.

The developer, which has previously delivered Sapphire by the Gardens apartment development in Melbourne, identified the Atchison Street site in 2023. It filed a Scoping Report around 12 months ago, and now has revealed the designs for the new&nbsp;40-storey mixed-use tower.

The State Significant Development Application covers <a href="https://next-portal.urban.com.au/projects/14650/summary">20-22 Atchison Street</a>, a 1,374 sqm site positioned between St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">COX Architecture</a>, the project would deliver 181 apartments, above a four-storey commercial podium, five basement levels, and new public domain works along Mitchell Street. The apartment mix comprises 35 one-bedroom apartments, 39 one-bedroom-plus-study apartments, 85 two-bedroom apartments, and 22 three-bedroom residences.

The proposal has been lodged as a shop-top housing development under the NSW Government’s TOD planning pathway, which allows increased density around key transport infrastructure. The site sits within the recently rezoned Crows Nest Accelerated TOD Precinct.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b799673d-48e2-46b0-801a-0e33a9330100" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20site.png?VersionId=dPh0UfwfaHpbFL1R7H1cbZNbIW0CHbCC" />

SP Setia acquired the Atchison Street site as part of its continued expansion into the Australian apartment market. In comments made to City &amp; Country (The Edge Malaysia) in 2023, SP Setia President and CEO Datuk Choong Kai Wai described the acquisition as “a strategic move” aligned with the group’s post-pandemic market recovery strategy.

“Our target for this exceptional development is local and overseas buyers, including first-home buyers, downsizers and investors,” Choong said.

The tower has been designed as a slender vertical form rising from a mixed-use podium, with COX Architecture positioning the development as a response to the evolving St Leonards and Crows Nest skyline.

“The purpose of the project is to facilitate the delivery of high-quality housing at a strategically located site and deliver a built tower outcome that is consistent with the desired future character of St Leonards and aligns with the TOD controls,” the design report stated.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b1a85eee-76f7-436c-a6da-73ba827b9b13" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20entry.png?VersionId=dA9jHGPMcm.dDbwk4QfxqWiY5bfh3UVt" />

The podium would incorporate retail uses fronting Atchison Street, commercial tenancies, landscaped communal areas, and pedestrian improvements along Mitchell Street. Vehicle access and loading would be consolidated via Atchison Lane.

Residents would have access to more than 665 sqm of communal indoor and outdoor spaces, while the development proposes 96 parking spaces across five basement levels.

The proposal also includes a commitment for 10 per cent of residential floor space to be allocated toward affordable housing through a monetary contribution.

COX said the tower form responds directly to the emerging high-density character of the precinct while seeking to maximise solar access, cross ventilation, and outlook from apartments.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2163f85c-f63b-4be3-aafa-f8763976cec5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Article%20Feature%20Image%20%28Grid%29_5.png?VersionId=WiAmtIKJ6.ZQ41EtYEQ1fol7AeorKBlL" />

“The building is orientated towards north,” the Apartment Design Guide compliance report noted, adding that the tower’s slim form was driven by the constrained inner-urban site dimensions.

The design also incorporates landscaped setbacks and communal open space at podium level, intended to soften the interface with surrounding streets and improve pedestrian amenity.

The project adds to a growing wave of redevelopment proposals reshaping St Leonards and Crows Nest following the opening of the Sydney Metro City line and the NSW Government’s push for higher-density housing around major transport nodes.

Last week Stockland filed plans just down the road. They want to build a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/601-pacific-highway-st-leonards-nsw-2065">52-storey tower on Pacific Highway</a>.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">First look: Stockland plans 52-storey, 538-apartment St Leonards tower&nbsp;</a>

First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower

Stamp Duty

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Big taxation reforms are rare.
The stamp duty bracket creep changes announced this week by the NSW State Government were heralded as the biggest overhaul to stamp duty in three decades.
That was true because for 32 years our state treasurers have simply taken billions in stamp duty, securing around $1 out of every $5 the state government receives as revenue.
I recall writing the median stamp duty would rise to $1500 after Premier Barry Unsworth's 1986 budget, as the Labor government increased stamp duty on properties sold for more than $300,000 and $1 million to the new rates of 4.5% and 5.5% respectively.
The typical Sydney buyer now pays $42,000 duty for their acquisition.
NSW residents currently pay almost $7 billion annually in taxes to shift home - some $134 million in St Leonards, $88 million in Waterloo; Kellyville buyers paid $119 million, some $109 million paid in Mosman; Riverstone $94 million and $86 million in Parramatta.
The tax reform will cost the state budget about $185 million in the three years after the changes slowly take effect from July 1 next year.
The announcement by NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet that the rate of increase in stamp duty will be reduced was a headline opportunity rather than leadership, being a very small step towards greater reform, rather than seriously addressing the cost of housing.
The government noted the changes will cut the average amount of stamp duty per property transaction by around $500 by 2021, but the savings will rise over time, presumably especially when inflation gets into a gallop again.
Stamp duty is levied on residential property purchases using price brackets and rates that rise from 1.25% under $30,000 to 5.02% over $3 million. The brackets have remained largely unchanged since 1986 despite the increase in Sydney property prices since then from $80,000 to its current near $1 million median dwelling price.
Stamp duty has become a tax regime that holds up housing turnover and impedes employment mobility. 
It is especially an issue as the tax discourages the ageing population nearing retirement from leaving large family homes occupied by only one or two people.
The announcement was noteworthy as NSW will be the first state to index stamp duty brackets to the CPI. 
It is a small signal recognising that reform is needed.
An audit, by former NSW treasury secretary Michael Lambert, described stamp duty as the most inefficient of NSW state taxes.
It recommended a ‘stamp duty replacement tax’ be phased in to replace all property transfer duties.
The proposed replacement tax would be based on land values rather than market values of properties and would be payable annually instead of when properties change hands. 
Treasurer Perrottet is open to further reform but emphasises any change would require the co-operation of the Commonwealth government and all the other states, given issues involving GST funds distribution.
The ACT government is phasing out stamp duty and replacing this with a land tax. 
The Australian Capital Territory has Australia’s most efficient tax base – every dollar of revenue raised costs the economy just 21.9 cents.
New South Wales has the least efficient – every dollar of revenue raised costs the economy 29.7 cents.
It's time for the Federal Treasurer and Prime Minister to take up the issue at Council of Australian Governments and bang heads, just as Peter Costello and John Howard did with the GST some two decades ago.
This article first appeared in The Daily Telegraph. 
</body></html>

jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

NSW's stamp duty changes a good step, but further reform needed

<html><body>
EXPERT OBSERVATION
Reforms to Stamp Duty announced by the NSW Government are an insult to those people trying to purchase a home in NSW.
The Treasurer’s statement on November 5 provides no genuine relief to home buyers, it’s nothing more than hype and bluster in the lead up to the election, according to Real Estate Institute of NSW.
The State Government’s intention to index Stamp Duty by reference to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) starting from 1 July 2019 without adjusting the tax brackets is a real sleight of hand.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has acknowledged that the stamp duty rates have not been amended since they were introduced in 1986 and then says that he is going to apply indexation (CPI) to the set of tax brackets that are 32 years out of date!
In 1986 the Sydney median house price was $93,576 and the median unit price was $86,109. At that time the overwhelming amount of property transactions did not attract the higher rates of tax.
Now with the Sydney median house price at $956,000 and the median unit price at $730,000 the overwhelming amount of transactions do attract the higher rates of tax.
By sitting on their hands for 32 years successive Governments have unconscionably profited at the expense of the home buyers including the most vulnerable - first home buyers.
The first tax bracket tops out at, $14,000. I ask rhetorically when was the last time you heard of someone buying a house for $14,000?
Yes, indexing is good, and the Treasury says had it been introduced 15 years ago then it would be better now - I agree. In fact if it had of been done 32 years ago it would be even better and deliver a far more equitable outcome for the property consumer (see table below).
If the Government is serious about Stamp Duty reform it must adjust the brackets to reflect today’s median house price and then index it from there
To do anything other than that is delivering reform without substance and is just disingenuous political grandstanding.
The Government’s own published data sets out clearly the continuing decline in property transactions and consequential Stamp Duty revenue.
The irony? There is empirical evidence demonstrating that a reduction in the rate of tax will drive more additional transactions and consequently more revenue for Government.
Stamp Duty brackets - what they are and what they should be
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2018/11/12/REINSW%20table.JPG" alt="">
Tim McKibbin is the REINSW CEO 
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tmckibbin-Ka7z9tGVMY

Stamp duty reforms are an insult: REINSW 

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EXPERT OBSERVATION
The announcement by the NSW Government that stamp duty will be pegged to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a welcome small step towards reducing the cost of selling a home says the Urban Taskforce.
The announcement by NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet that the rate of increase in the average rate of stamp duty will be reduced is a small step forward in addressing the cost of housing.
The Urban Taskforce has argued for some time that the transactional tax on selling a home is a distortionary tax as it discourages owners to sell.
This is particularly critical as the ageing population nears retirement and many large family homes are occupied by only one or two people.
It would seem to be desirable to free up these homes for families and for retirees to move to a smaller home at this stage in their lives but the stamp duty cost is a disincentive to do this.
Unfortunately State Government Treasuries around Australia have become wedded to the massive income they get from stamp duty so they are not keen to phase out this tax. The exception is in the ACT where the government is phasing out stamp duty and replacing this with a land tax.
The Urban Taskforce believes that land tax, where smaller payments are made annually related to the value of the land, should replace stamp duty as a fairer way for states and territories to gain income from property rather than adding a tax to the sale of a house.
With house and apartment sales dropping in NSW stamp duty is reducing and this will impact on the state budget. We are concerned that in a pre-election environment the NSW government seems to be taking an anti-development approach to new housing and that this will slow down the production of new housing particularly in Sydney.
This will clearly flow on to a reduction in the number of jobs generated by the housing industry in NSW which are currently around 300,000.
The NSW Government must factor in the impact on jobs that would flow from proposed policies which seek to dramatically reduce migration with a flow onto the number of new homes needed each year.
The Greater Sydney Commission’s recent plans for Sydney’s growth over 20 and 40 years should be the framework that growth is managed within. This is particularly so as the plans were supported by a long term transport plan and an infrastructure plan.
Chris Johnson is the CEO of Urban Taskforce Australia
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cjohnson-8xfqfuuCSq

NSW stamp duty reform a small step forward: Chris Johnson

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NSW is set to index stamp duty brackets to the consumer price index.
The seven price bands that determine how much stamp duty by home buyers will be adjusted for inflation under the scheme to start in mid-2019, The Daily Telegraph reported today.
Stamp duty has been unchanged in NSW for 32 years while the median house price has risen by an estimated 1000 per cent.
When the rates were set in 1986 the median Sydney dwelling price, according to CoreLogic, was $80,000 compared with the current median house price of around $1 million.
Last financial year, NSW residential and commercial property buyers paid a total $9.8 billion in stamp duty after 228,000 sales.
Stamp duty accounts for 28 per cent of all state tax revenue.
A typical buyer in Sydney pays about $42,000 duty when purchasing a home. 
The move is tipped to save about $500 on the average property transaction within years, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet is expected to tell media today.
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“The indexation of Stamp Duty is a step forward in reducing the taxation imposts on housing,”stated Tim Reardon, HIA’s Principal Economist.
“This is the first adjustment to Stamp Duty rates since the average house in Sydney cost just$80,000.
“State governments have become increasingly reliant on Stamp Duty from housing as a mainsource of revenue.
“Around $1 in every $5 of state government revenue comes from Stamp Duty on houses.
“The announcement by the NSW Government to address bracket creep for the first time in over30 years is a meaningful contribution to ensuring that the impost of Stamp Duty does not continue to grow.
“Stamp duty is an inefficient tax and it has a disproportionately high impact on households that are vulnerable due to changes in their circumstances including employment, health or other family related matters.
“Stamp Duty is also a volatile source of tax revenue, as the NSW Government is currently experiencing. A small fall in house prices has had a disproportionate impact of state government revenue.
“A better long term solution would be to phase out Stamp Duty altogether and replace it with aform of revenue that doesn’t punish buyers for wishing to pursue their dream of owning a home,” concluded Mr Reardon.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

NSW to index stamp duty brackets to CPI

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GUEST OBSERVATION
You might think that being a state (or territory) treasurer is a boring job. The federal treasurer gets all the media attention and controls many of the big economic levers, including income and company tax, massive Australia-wide spending and trade and competition policy.
But you would be wrong.
Grattan Institute’s <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/state-orange-book-2018/" target="_blank">State Orange Book 2018</a> shows that if state treasurers relied less on taxes that hurt the economy and more on the ones that are the very best they could provide a huge boost to their economies.
The big prize
Almost every tax hurts economic growth, but some hurt more than others.
Our state treasurers know this, yet they continue to make poor choices.
Taxes on transactions, such as stamp duties on real estate purchases, are particularly inefficient.
They make it more expensive to move home to take a new job across town or in a different town, encouraging people to stay put. They make it more expensive to move into bigger or smaller homes, encouraging people to renovate instead.
With the typical stamp duty bill now above $40,000 in Sydney and Melbourne, this is more than just an idle theory.
In contrast, taxes on land are <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/property-taxes/" target="_blank">extraordinarily efficient</a>, and council rates equally so.
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<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/NpOip/2/" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="284"></iframe>
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ACT is showing the way
The Australian Capital Territory has Australia’s most efficient tax base – every dollar of revenue raised costs the economy just 21.9 cents.
New South Wales has the least efficient – every dollar of revenue raised costs the economy 29.7 cents.
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243371/original/file-20181101-78453-1gnjuck.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243371/original/file-20181101-78453-1gnjuck.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
<a class="source" href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/state-orange-book-2018/" target="_blank">Grattan Institute Orange Book 2018</a>
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While most states are going backwards
Unfortunately, in most states taxes have became less efficient over the past five years.
Booming property prices in Sydney and Melbourne inflated stamp duties, giving them a growing share of the tax base in NSW and Victoria.
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243367/original/file-20181101-78447-1pk0y6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243367/original/file-20181101-78447-1pk0y6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Average excess burden of taxation cents per dollar of tax revenue collected in each state and territory (2006-2016) <a class="source" href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/state-orange-book-2018/" target="_blank">Grattan Institute Orange book 2008</a>
<hr>
They should copy the ACT
All state treasurers should <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/following-the-act-land-tax-approach-boosts-growth-and-state-budgets/" target="_blank">follow the lead</a> of the ACT and replace stamp duties with broad-based property taxes.
Our calculations suggest that doing so could make Australians up to $17 billion a year better off, while also <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/housing-tax-reform-what-difference-will-it-make/" target="_blank">making housing more affordable</a>.
And stamp duties are unfair. They make some families pay more tax than others simply because they move home more often.
An annual flat tax <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SA-Federalism-and-Tax-Future-Directions-for-Property-Tax-Reform-for-web-28-August-2017.pdf" target="_blank">set at between A$5 and A$7</a> for every A$1,000 of unimproved land value would be enough to fund the abolition of property stamp duties.
Which won’t be easy
Proposals to make the switch have stalled <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SA-Federalism-and-Tax-Future-Directions-for-Property-Tax-Reform-for-web-28-August-2017.pdf" target="_blank">because the politics is hard</a>.
Recent purchasers would be reluctant to pay an annual tax so soon after paying stamp duty. A property tax would pose difficulties for people who are asset-rich but income-poor, especially retirees.
And property taxes cause angst: quarterly property tax bills remind people that they are taxpayers more often than does a one-off stamp duty with each purchase.
So state treasurers should make the switch gradually, <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/following-the-act-land-tax-approach-boosts-growth-and-state-budgets/" target="_blank">as in the ACT</a>: slowly wind back stamp duty and ramp up broad-based property tax over time.
It would provide the states with an increasingly stable revenue stream while reducing the disparity between those who bought a home just before the change and just afterwards.
To ensure that asset-rich but income-poor households could stay in their homes, state treasurers would have to allow them to defer paying the levy (with interest) until they sell their properties.
And they should axe insurance tax
State treasurers should also replace state taxes on property, life, health and motor vehicle insurance with a broad-based property levy. Most states have already abolished insurance levies to fund fire and emergency services.
Insurance taxes <a href="http://taxreview.treasury.gov.au/content/FinalReport.aspx?doc=html/Publications/Papers/Final_Report_Part_2/chapter_e8.htm" target="_blank">deter</a> people and businesses from buying adequate insurance, leaving them <a href="https://theconversation.com/properties-under-fire-why-so-many-australians-are-inadequately-insured-against-disaster-50588" target="_blank">exposed to risks</a> such as flood or fire damage to their home, or motor vehicle theft.
And charge for rezoning
And state treasurers should <a href="http://www.planning.act.gov.au/topics/design-and-build/fees/change_of_use_charge_-_lease_variation_charge" target="_blank">follow another ACT lead</a> and introduce explicit “betterment taxes” to capture some of the windfall gains from rezoning of land.
Government permission to build higher-density housing, or convert farmland into greenfield housing land, generates large unearned windfall gains for landowners.
Taxing these windfall gains would be a particularly efficient form of taxation, would reduce the opportunities for <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/in-the-zone-insider-trading-rife-in-land-rezoning-racket-20150929-gjx8nh" target="_blank">corruption</a> in the planning system, and would enable state treasurers to reduce other more economically harmful and regressive taxes.
And apply payroll tax widely
Finally, state payroll taxes should be broadened by abolishing carve-outs for small businesses.
This would enable state treasurers to cut payroll tax rates across the board.
Generous thresholds and exemptions have weakened states’ payroll tax bases and <a href="https://www.murphyeconomics.com.au/Information/tax/ATF_Vol.33-1_2018_Murphy.pdf" target="_blank">increased</a> the economic costs of the tax.
Astoundingly, around 90% of NSW businesses <a href="http://taxreview.treasury.gov.au/content/FinalReport.aspx?doc=html/publications/Papers/Final_Report_Part_2/chapter_d3-2.htm" target="_blank">are exempt</a> from payroll tax.
We believe that, taken together, this set of reforms would make a big difference to economic growth.
Voters might even reward the treasurers and their premiers.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105378/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Brendan Coates, Fellow, Grattan Institute
John Daley, Chief Executive Officer, Grattan Institute
Tony Chen, Researcher, Grattan Institute
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/abolish-stamp-duty-the-act-shows-the-rest-of-us-how-to-tax-property-105378" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Abolish stamp duty: The ACT shows the rest of us how to tax property

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There's heightened desire that Tuesday's State Budget does something on the stamp duty front. Some seek relief others reform.
Stamp duty has been unchanged in NSW for 32 years despite the median house price rising by 1000 percent or so.
When the current NSW transfer duty rates were budgeted in 1986, the median dwelling price, according to CoreLogic, was $80,000 compared to the current median house price of just above $1 million.
The median stamp duty paid was $1500 after Premier Barry Unsworth's 1986 budget.
The typical buyer now pays $42,000 duty for their acquisition.
The government unwillingness to move on the stamp duty rate was outrageous, Leanne Pilkington, the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales president, recently suggested.
She went even further suggesting the government’s inaction was "nothing less than unconscionable.”
But I suspect next week's budget is not the time for the NSW government to correct the punishing effects of stamp duty bracket creep. 
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet is facing softening house prices and reduced sales activity at a time he's got heightened infrastructure spending demands.
Last financial year NSW residential and commercial property buyers paid $9.8 billion in stamp duty after a record 228,000 sales, with stamp duty accounting for 28 percent of total state tax revenues. 
State Treasury has already downgraded its revenue forecast in the mid-year budget review in December, and the escalating property downturn is now tipped to see revenue down by $865 million this financial year. 
There can be little doubt that stamp duty affects affordability by making buying homes dearer, especially for first home buyers who get most of the current offsetting handouts.
But it affects mobility too.
Stamp duty impedes workers taking advantage of new employment opportunities elsewhere.
It leads to the inefficient use of housing by constraining the capacity of the empty nesters and elderly to downsize into a more appropriately sized home.
Premiers Kristina Keneally and Barry O'Farrell had a shot at an initiative aimed at encouraging seniors to downsize to regional NSW with the twin goal of encouraging new home construction.
Described as an Australian first, it flopped.
State treasurers tend to copy each other's initiatives, so it will be interesting to see whether Perrottet looks over the border to the recent ACT budget.
It will abolish stamp duty for first home buyers with an annual household income of $160,000 or less.
The scheme sees the abolition of the $7000 first home owners grant.
The ACT is also several years into its 20 year plan to abolish stamp duty in favour of higher council rates and land taxation.
Reformers hope NSW takes the initial steps away from stamp duty, replacing it with a universal land tax paid annually on all properties, not just investors. 
It will ensure reliability of revenue and free up property transfers.
This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph.
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Heightened desire for NSW State Budget to offer relief or reform on stamp duty

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<div>A solid headline result for employment growth in April 2018, beating expectations of 20,000, with total seasonally adjusted employment up by 22,600 to beyond 12½ million for the first time, driven by a substantial 32,700 increase in full time jobs.</div>
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<div>There were, however, adverse revisions to take into account for the preceding month. </div>
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<div>Alas, the Coalition's favoured '1000 jobs per month' slogan is going to have to be canned forthwith, with annual employment growth down from a record high of 431,200 in January 2018 to 332,200 (or 2.73 per cent) by April. </div>
Click here <a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_JFbqwgARDc/Wv0rFQ_Ib9I/AAAAAAAAqFw/Yy8kZrFzvI8ZiFYm7PFFKrAPo0ZGSzJAACLcBGAs/s640/A2.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a>
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 State versus state (NSW superboom) 
<div>Employment blazed another 27,600 higher in New South Wales to be up by 46,800 over the quarter, and a thunderous 156,000 year-on-year, casting further doubt on the endless gloomy house price predictions, with first homebuyers also now wading in. </div>
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<div>The New South Wales economy has added well over 300,000 extra jobs over the past three years, something achieved for the first time ever on a rolling 3-year basis in the past few months across more than 40 years of available figures. </div>
Click here <a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hU-FibmfM9o/Wv0rFEzr5GI/AAAAAAAAqFo/YE68F8xEGcMtqe9nrQ6JYlK-D9crzfLkACLcBGAs/s640/A3.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a> 
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<div>One of the extraordinary aspects of this cycle has been the sheer concentration of employment growth. Of the suburbs where participation rates have been rising almost all of them are in the inner suburban heart the big capital cities, while more than half of jobs have been created within a tiny 2-kilometre radius of the Sydney and Melbourne CBDs. Small wonder the competition for prime location land continues to intensify. Queensland's jobs boom seems to have tapered back, with annual employment growth in trend terms now at 3.5 per cent, remaining comfortably in second place only to New South Wales at a supercharged 3.8 per cent. </div>
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<div>Interestingly the trend participation rate hit a record high 65.7 per cent in April driven by female and older workers entering the labour force, with the unemployment rate ticking up a notch to 5.6 per cent. </div>
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Despite searing annual population growth of 123,100 and 147,400 in the two most populous states respectively, New South Wales has a trend unemployment rate of just 4.9 per cent while Victoria has seen its trend unemployment rate crunched lower to 5.3 per cent, down from 6.1 per cent a year earlier. 
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<div>Finally, and to finish on a positive note, the trend annual growth in monthly hours worked increased to 3.3 per cent, the highest level since all the way back in August 2010. </div>
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<div>The wrap</div>
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<div>Overall, these figures would be construed as disappointing if you don't live in New South Wales, where the stamp duty/infrastructure boom is paying some serious dividends. </div>
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<div>Employment growth in recent times has been quite heavily focused in healthcare and construction, which might in part account for why wages growth has generally been tepid across most industries. Underutilisation remains elevated, despite a modest improvement. </div>
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<div>Despite the uptick in the unemployment rate policymakers will most likely see enough positives here to stay on the sidelines for the foreseeable future. </div>
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<div>PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of AllenWargent property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blogger</a>.</div>
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New South Wales, where the stamp duty/infrastructure boom is paying serious dividends: Pete Wargent

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Stamp duty is a tax that discourages the buying and sale of homes. 
It provides the NSW State Government with a fairly reliable income.
There are two debates running ahead of the upcoming state budget. One is on the rate of the tax, the other on whether it should be phased out and replaced with another tax.
This week the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) really lashed out having long failed in their lobbying efforts to persuade the government to respond to the stamp duty bracket creep that has been in place for more than three decades.
It was time for the NSW government to amend the 1986 stamp duty brackets, according to the REINSW president Leanne Pilkington, who said the Government’s conduct was "nothing less than unconscionable”.
Pilkington noted the second reading to the 1986 Bill noted the increased rates for conveyances only affected properties worth more than $300,000 "and thus will not affect the average home purchaser”. 
The median house price in Sydney is now at $1.1 million, costing $46,000 in stamp duty.
Last financial year more than $7.3 billion was collected in stamp duty.
Up until February this year the government has raised $4.7 billion, so is on par with last financial year.
That's despite first home buyers being able to buy property up to $650,000 without having to pay stamp duty, and homes up to $800,000 seeing a discounted stamp duty.
Any adjustment to the standard stamp duty threshold rate would be simple, though likely at cost to overall revenues.
However the revenue could potentially go higher, and certainly be more stable, if the NSW government took the braver decision to phase in a broad based land tax that spreads the income across all land owners rather than only on those buying homes.
Many economists, and Ken Henry, author of the 2010 Henry Tax Review, have long argued that a broad based land tax is the most equitable way to tax property owners.
Earlier this month CEDA, the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, raised the issue in its report on inequality, How unequal? Insights on inequality. 
Unlike stamp duty which imposes a huge up-front financial burden upon only home buyers, a broad-based land tax, paid annually and spread over a wider base of people, provides a steady income stream to government to fund infrastructure.
It also would not stymie listings because many more homes would be listed by elderly downsizers if they weren't facing the repurchasing stamp duty burden.
John Daley, the chief executive of independent think tank the Grattan Institute, calculates an annual tax of $1 per every $1000 of a home's value would cost the median Sydney household $845 a year in tax.
I would however question the estimate due to the low reliability of NSW land valuations, which remain a flawed system. Any shift would require a fresh equitable modern revaluation of the state.
This article first appeared in The Daily Telegraph.
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Is it time to consider a wider land tax?

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EXPERT OBSERVATION
Stamp duty has remained unchanged in NSW for 32 years despite median house prices rising by 1181%.
When the current NSW Transfer Duty brackets were put into place in 1986 the median dwelling price, according to statistics from CoreLogic, was $80,675 compared to the current median house price of $1,033,892.
The government’s unwillingness to act on this is outrageous.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Median unit prices have also seen a similar increase with a rise of 841.80% from $80,331 to $756,557.
Consumers should be angry about this huge injustice and the government needs to start listening.
A full review must be undertaken and it must be undertaken now.
It was time for the NSW government to correct the punishing effects of Stamp Duty bracket creep. 
However, to date, Government has chosen to ignore the damage these outdated tax rates are causing.
The Government’s conduct in regard to this issue is nothing less than unconscionable. 
The current NSW Transfer Duty brackets (other than the top bracket for residential land over $3 million) have been in place for more than 30 years.  
The Second Reading to the 1986 Bill which on enactment increased NSW Transfer Duty rates and introduced the current base thresholds included the following statement: 
The increased rates for conveyances only affect properties worth more than $300,000 and thus will not affect the average home purchaser. 
Leanne Pilkington is the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales president.
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jrobinson-rf4aSBido9

Government's failure to correct stamp duty is unconscionable: REINSW

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It was time for the NSW government to correct the stamp duty brackets, according to the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales.  
The REINSW President Leanne Pilkington said REINSW has continuously failed in lobbying the NSW Government in an effort to persuade them to address the punishing effects of Stamp Duty bracket creep. 
“However, to date, Government has chosen to ignore the damage these outdated tax rates are causing.
“The Government’s conduct in regard to this issue is nothing less than unconscionable”, Ms Pilkington said.  
The NSW budget is due in two months.
“The current NSW Transfer Duty brackets (other than the top bracket for residential land over $3 million) have been in place for more than 30 years.  
“The Second Reading to the 1986 Bill which on enactment increased NSW Transfer Duty rates and introduced the current base thresholds included the following statement: 
"The increased rates for conveyances only affect properties worth more than $300,000 and thus will not affect the average home purchaser”.  “The median house price in Sydney is now at $1,179,519," she noted.
This clearly shows that the government is ignoring the market in which the current stamp duty rates were to apply. 
“Last financial year more than $7.3 billion was collected in stamp duty and to February 2018 the government has raised in excess of $4.7 billion, on par with the same amount collected in the first 8 months of that financial year.
Meanwhile Mirvac has introduced a marketing campaign aimed at first home buyers by matching the NSW Government’s $10,000 First Home Owner Grant on all apartments above the $600,000 cap.
Mirvac says its wants to sell to first home buyers who are currently missing out because their housing needs push them into a higher $600,000 price bracket, by matching the NSW Government’s $10,000 grant.
They will be permitted to exchange on a reduced deposit, paying the remainder in instalments and with priority to purchase ahead of other buyers.
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