South Australians aged 60 and over who are downsizing to a newly-built home or off-the-plan apartment will no longer have to pay stamp duty on the transaction for contracts signed on or after today.
On the day his new Cabinet was sworn-in, the Premier has signed an instrument to ensure the Government's election commitment to remove stamp duty for downsizers over 60, on new homes up to $2 million in value, comes into effect immediately.
The commitment will save eligible downsizers up to $103,830.
Labor announced last month that it was taking to the election a plan to abolish stamp duty for downsizers buying new homes to further stimulate housing growth, with the 100 per cent removal of stamp duty to apply to seniors buying a smaller, newly-built home or off-the-plan apartment worth up to $2 million.
It is just one of a broad suite of policies the Malinauskas Government took to the state election to invest in additional housing for South Australians, including:
- A $1 billion plan to build more homes for South Australians through a $500 million Housing Fast-Track Fund to purchase strategic land that can be fast-tracked for development, as well as a $500 million Apartment Fast-Track Fund that will see the Government go guarantor for developers to unlock more apartment developments in the CBD;
- 1,000 more tradies to build more homes through a $29 million Housing Skills Package that will create new pathways for South Australians to enter the construction workforce through scholarships, apprenticeships and industry partnerships;
- 2,000 more Rent To Own homes which will take thousands of South Australians out of the rental market and allow them to achieve their dream of owning their own home.
- A $140 million plan to restore trust in the Housing Trust by renovating 300 vacant public homes and bringing them back into stock that can be tenanted by families and investing in 200 supported accommodation places for tenant cohorts with complex needs to keep Housing Trust tenants and their neighbours safe;
- Establishing South Australia's first ever Portable Rental Bonds scheme, removing the need for renters moving between rental properties to pay a new bond before their previous bond has been refunded;
- An expansion to HomeStart to help more South Australians buy homes — extending low-deposit loans to police, firefighters and TAFE and Technical College graduates, raising income limits, opening shared equity loans to apartment buyers and linking HomeSeeker SA with HomeStart for easier access;
- A plan to deliver a Housing Pattern Book - a suite of pre-approved, world-class architectural designs for homes that will fast-track planning approvals and get homes built faster;
- The new SA Gas & Water Trust to coordinate water and energy infrastructure with the state's target of building 13,500 homes a year - ensuring essential services keep pace with housing growth.
As put by Peter Malinauskas
We are getting on with the job.
We said this tax abolition would come into effect on the day the new Malinauskas Government is sworn in, and today we honour that commitment.
Removing stamp duty for downsizing to a new home achieves clear objectives: it saves tens of thousands of dollars for people choosing to move to a new, smaller home, delivers more existing homes for growing South Australian families, and most importantly it adds to our overall housing stock by incentivising new construction.
This policy underlines Labor's clear objective and clear plan to build more homes.
As put by Daniel Palumbo, Managing Director, Palumbo Group
We're already seeing strong early signs that this policy is having a real impact on buyer behaviour from downsizers who recognise this is a rare opportunity to make their move while saving significantly on stamp duty.
At both our Royal Apartments project in Kent Town and Hillsview Green project in Angle Vale, our sales teams have been fielding a noticeable increase in enquiries from downsizers specifically asking about stamp duty relief.
For many older South Australians, stamp duty has been one of the biggest barriers to downsizing. Removing that cost is clearly encouraging people to seriously consider making the move.
What we're seeing on the ground is exactly what this policy is designed to achieve, unlocking movement in the housing market and helping free up larger homes for families.
If this momentum continues, it has the potential to be a meaningful driver of both housing turnover and new development activity across the state.
