First-home buyers in Queensland will be better off under a budget commitment to increase the threshold for the first homeowner concession on stamp duty.
The Queensland government will increase the concession on transfer duty from $500,000 (US$330,000) to $700,000 in Tuesday’s budget with the concession then phasing out up to values of $800,000.
Premier Steven Miles and Deputy Premier Cameron Dick said the changes will target first-home buyers.
“The fact of the matter is, the best we can do for a Queenslander’s cost of living for the lifetime is help get them into their first home,” the premier told reporters on Sunday.
“We know that when someone owns their first home, once they are in the property ownership system, they will be better off.”
“It is all about backing those Queenslanders who are working hard, who are saving the deposit, who want to get into property, into owning their own home, because we know that that is one of the best things they can do for their lifetime,” he said.
The incentive will also apply to the first-home vacant land concession threshold, increasing from $250,000 to $350,000, with the concession then phasing out up to values of $500,000.
“By increasing the eligibility threshold, we are giving aspiring homeowners a fairer go,” Mr. Miles said.
“This is a real cost-of-living measure, that will also help deliver inter-generational prosperity.”
Around 10,000 buyers a year will benefit from an increase to the first homeowner transfer concessions.
In the past four years, $216 million in transfer concessions has applied to 17,660 first home buyer transactions in Brisbane.
A further 76,241 homeowners had the transfer duty home concession applied to the purchase of their Brisbane home.
The government has also increased a land tax surcharge on foreign investors to 3 percent, one percentile below New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria.
Transfer duty surcharge for foreign buyers is being brought in line with NSW and Victoria at 8 percent.
Leap-Frogged to 2nd Place
Brisbane is now the second-most expensive city in Australia to buy a home, according to data released by CoreLogic last week.The overall value of Brisbane properties has increased more than five times faster than Melbourne since the pandemic.
“Foreign investors have had a great run in Queensland, but they compete with Queensland families for real estate, so it’s only fair that they contribute to helping more young Queenslanders into their first home,” he said.
The decision to increase the stamp duty concession was welcomed by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland.
But the opposition has accused the government of backflipping and adopting their policy.
In January, opposition treasury spokesperson David Janetski said the Liberal-National Party (LNP) would raise the stamp duty threshold to get more people into home ownership.
“At the time, Steven Miles rubbished the LNP’s policy, claiming it was a ”thought bubble“ that would increase house prices,” Mr. Janetski said in a statement.
“What’s changed in a matter of months except an ever-closer election?”
