First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme Threshold Extension

The NSW government has announced that it will temporarily increase transfer duty relief and concessions. From 1 August 2020, the duty-free limit will be extended to $800,000 for first home buyers, if they purchase a newly built home (not an existing home) and the limit to which concessions apply will be increased. Previously, transfer duty (stamp duty) was waived for owner-occupiers buying their first home if it was under $650,000, with a stamp duty concession for first homes with a purchase price of between $650,000 and $800,000. The upper limit for transfer duty concessions will also increase to cover new homes worth less than $1 million. The stamp duty threshold on vacant land will also increase under the temporary changes, rising from $350,000 to $400,000 (with concessions up to a limit of $500,000). The change to the thresholds will only apply to newly built homes and vacant land, not to existing homes, and will last for a period of12 months from 1 August, 2020. The NSW government said it would continue to offer a $10,000 First Home Owner Grant to those buying a new first home worth no more than $600,000, or buying land and building a new first home worth no more than $750,000 in total. According to the NSW government, first home buyers will benefit from the changes, while the construction industry will also benefit from increased work. NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet has estimated that the changes would save first home buyers up to $31,335 on stamp duty for a new $800,000 home. These long-awaited changes better reflect the price of new homes in NSW and, in particular, Sydney.  Also, the changes will, hopefully, have a positive outcome for the housing and construction industry and the NSW economy as a whole. Combined with the existing $10,000 First Home Owner Grant and the $25,000 Home Builder Grant, first home buyers in NSW should be looking to a new home as a real option to take up home ownership. Please contact Dean Woodbridge on (02) 9279 4888 or dwoodbridge@lswlawyers.com.au