Come July 1st this year, all buyers of new homes in New South Wales, Australia, will be given a 50 per cent reduction in stamp duty in a bid to kick-start residential construction, jobs and economic activity across the state…
The measure, known as the ‘Housing Construction Acceleration Programme,’ will provide the discount for anyone, including investors, who buy a new property in New South Wales valued at up to £292,000 between July 1st and December 31st this year.
After the year is up, the Treasurer has left the door open for an expansion of the scheme.
The New South Wales Government budget also included a continuation of its £1,450 boost to the first homebuyers grant, extended to the end of June next year.
Real Estate Institute of New South Wales President Steve Martin welcomed the funds, but said he had wished for more.
“This initiative will help investors and home buyers, as well as creating new jobs in NSW through the construction of new properties.
“These are all good things. However, we would question why the initiative has been limited to only new properties valued at £292,000 or less.
“I had hoped for an across the board cut on stamp duty for all new and existing property in both the residential and commercial sectors,” added Mr Martin.
Whilst the stamp duty cut, which will provide savings of up to £5,500, will certainly lure some new home buyers, many of the homes are being built in areas with little infrastructure, where the price and space allow.
In response to this, a £97 million Local Infrastructure Fund has been announced as part of the 2009-10 State Budget. This will go towards building and improving roads, roundabouts and other infrastructure outside Sydney.
Leaving the market
The first time buyer grant scheme has been so successful that many property investors have been chased out of the market by the first timers.
The Government’s scheme, which allots a certain amount of cash to help FTBs make their way onto the ladder, has led to three out of four investors delaying their purchase until the grant ends.
Seventy-six per cent of respondents to the Mortgage Choice’s 2009 Property Investors Survey believed that competition from first time buyers has been so intense that they are putting their own plans on hold.
Experts are warning that the market will have changed dramatically by the time they venture back into the water at the end of the year when the grant ends, as a price bubble has been created due to the hoards of FTBs snapping up property.
For more information on properties in Australia and the market in general, please visit http://australia.themovechannel.com/
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.
For further information as well as images and interview possibilities, please contact:
Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650
