Daily Buzz: Wednesday, 12 June
By
PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.
The Queensland government puts the spotlight on property; new projections for home price growth, and South Australia issues a warning for home renovators. Welcome to Property Buzz!
I’m Juliet Helmke. Today is Wednesday, 12 June.
– After both major parties made promises around the issue, the Queensland government has announced in its latest budget that it will increase the threshold for first homeowner concessions on transfer duty from $500,000 to $700,000 to improve housing affordability.
– The threshold for vacant land purchases has also been raised from $250,000 to $350,000, with stamp duty discounts applicable up to $500,000.
– Also included in the budget was an increase on the foreign investor land tax surcharge to 3 per cent, as well as the transfer duty surcharge for foreign buyers to 8 per cent.
-The property industry welcomed the first home buyer concessions but argued the foreign investor changes will strain apartment projects, negatively impact first home buyers and renters, and discourage foreign investment, while not adequately addressing the state’s housing crisis.
– A mid-year housing report from Westpac predicts a gradual decline in house price growth over the next two years, with a 6 per cent growth for this year compared to last year’s 10 per cent.
– The bank forecasts a continued decline through to 2025, with 4 per cent growth in dwelling values next year. Economists noted that at the moment consumers are torn between poor affordability and positive price prospects when making buying decisions.
– Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane are expected to see the highest growth this year and next year, while Sydney and Melbourne are predicted to have more modest growth due to affordability issues for the former and higher supply for the latter.
– Despite tight vacancy rates nationally, Westpac predicts a slowdown in rental price growth, attributing this to slowing population increases off the back of tightened visa criteria and reduced international student inflow.
– In South Australia now, an unlicensed fencer has served as an unfortunate reminder to consumers to check the business licence of anyone they engage for home repairs, after the fencer was found to have taken thousands in deposits for work he never started, spending it on personal expenses like private school fees and gambling.
– South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services found that the man accepted over $21,000 in consumer deposits over eight months in 2021, while neither he nor his business were licensed for fencing work.
– The man was found to have breached South Australia’s building work contractor laws and Australian Consumer Law, and was ordered to serve 300 hours of community service and pay $7,500 in compensation.
That’s Property Buzz for today. See you again tomorrow, 13 June, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.
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