Experts support stamp duty scrapping
The majority of experts believe that national land tax rollout should replace the one-off stamp duty on property purchases and investors wanting the best return on investment should look at Brisbane which has been voted the best Australian capital city to buy a property, these were the key takeaways from the Finder survey.
At the same time, “Finder RBA Cash Rate Survey” found that all experts surveyed predicted a cash rate hold for December.
Earlier this month, the state government announced that New South Wales would lead the way on tax reform with its plan to make stamp duty optional, granting homeowners the ability to pay an annual land tax instead and close to 90% of 40 experts and economists were in favour of the proposed stamp duty scrapping.
“Buying a home in Australia is already an expensive affair and stamp duty makes it more so. It effectively raises the bottom rung of the housing ladder, burdens buyers with a huge up-front tax and inhibits the flow of property sales,” Finder manager, Graham Cooke, said.
“In an ideal market, you buy when you can afford to and you sell when you want to. Stamp duty forces first-time buyers to save up for longer, and prevents current owners from upselling."
“Axing the tax now also means buyers who are currently saving can get more bang for their buck.”
Following this, experts decided that Brisbane was the best Australian capital city to buy a property, and was followed by Sydney (22%) and Canberra (15%).
Hobart was at the bottom of the list, with only 4% (1 in 27) of respondents tipping Tasmania’s capital as a smart place to buy but, according to experts, despite optimism about the economy and a vaccine for COVID, 11% (3 in 27) of respondents would not advise buying property in any capital city.
“In terms of value, Brisbane has been tipped as the city to watch over the next few years, with prices expected to surge between 2022 and 2023,” Cooke concluded.
“First home buyers are taking advantage of affordable prices and government incentives, while investors from both Queensland and interstate are benefiting from strong rental returns. While Sydney is unsurprisingly a strong candidate, Melbourne near the bottom of the list is a shock – likely due to its prolonged lockdown and expected knock-on effects.”
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