Some 10,000 Queensland first home buyers annually are expected to save up to $17,000 on their purchase under a state government move to lift the stamp duty threshold for that cohort. “By increasing the eligibility threshold, we are giving aspiring home owners a fairer go,” Miles said on social media. Credit: Matt Dennien On Sunday, Premier Steven Miles announced the change – expected to cost $350 million over four years – as the latest detail from Labor’s pre-election budget, to be released on Tuesday.
The point at which first home buyers pay stamp duty will rise from $500,000 to $700,000, with some concessions for properties worth up to $800,000. Lost revenue and concerns about inflating house prices will be addressed by single percentage-point increases in foreign investor stamp duty and land tax rates – still set to be equal to or lower than those in NSW and Victoria. Amid growing calls from some housing experts and economists for stamp duty to be replaced altogether , the first home buyer threshold – which has remained the same since 2012 – has been well overtaken by median property prices in the state.
This is particularly so in Brisbane, which was last week crowned the second most expensive capital city in the country, with the median house price passing $937,000 and units edging beyond $615,000. This dynamic has led the opposition to label Labor’s lack of change since it formed government in 2015 a “tax by stealth”, with the LNP promising to outli.
