Well, this is hardly surprising.
Of all the issues standing in the way of Australians becoming property owners, the biggest hurdle is stamp duty, according to a new survey by mortgage broker Citiwide Homeloans.
People would prefer to see stamp duty rates decreased even more than they would like first homeowner grants to be boosted back up, the survey found.
I did a little research to see how much stamp duty is, state to state. Here’s a little table I’ve come up with to show you how much money or equity you need on hand, on top of your property deposit, in order to purchase a property in the current market.
Note that all of these figures relate to the purchase of an investment property; some discounts may apply when purchasing your own home.
It ranges from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars; needless to say, wherever you’re buying, stamp duty takes up a huge chunk of change.
Property Council of Australia CEO Ken Morrison recently described stamp duty as a “runaway cash grab that is hurting Australia’s economy and locking out potential homebuyers”.
I have to say that I’m in agreement with Ken on this one.
What do you think – is stamp duty standing in your way of adding more property to your portfolio?
Til next time, happy investing!
Helen Collier-Kogtevs
