This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
SOUTH Australia’s Malinauskas government will abolish stamp duty for all first homebuyers as well as invest over half a billion dollars to develop two major housing developments which will have a minimum 15% affordable housing and 30% social housing.
The stamp duty exemption will be available to all first home buyers who buy a new home (including a house, flat, unit, townhouse or apartment), an off-the-plan apartment, a house and land package or vacant land to build a new home.
As part of the 2024-25 Budget, The government will abolish property value thresholds for both the stamp duty exemption and First Home Owner Grant at a cost of $30 million over four years,
With the abolition of property value limits, a first homebuyer who purchases a new dwelling broadly in line with the median house price of $750,000 will receive a benefit of over $50,000, including the First Home Owner Grant of $15,000.
First homebuyers building a home can also access a 2% deposit home loan available through HomeStart.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said the measures will help South Australians enter the housing market.
“We are amid a national housing crisis borne of successive governments failing to do enough to build new homes. In the last budget, we abolished stamp duty for some first homebuyers who build new homes.
“Now we are making that tax relief available to all of them,” said the Premier. “Every first homebuyer that can move into a new home means one less buyer or renter competing for existing stock,”
Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said the policy will remove barriers for young people looking to enter the housing market and will assist young people into homeownership.
“That is why we have taken the step to abolish the property value cap on the stamp duty exemption for first home buyers who buy or build a new dwelling to ensure all first home buyers who choose this option no longer have to pay stamp duty,” he added.
The government will also invest $576 million to deliver two major housing developments in Adelaide’s western and southern suburbs.
The bulk, $425 million will be spent redeveloping 36.4 hectares at Seaton for the construction of around 1,315 homes, comprising 865 houses and townhouses and 450 apartments, with at least 15% to be affordable housing and 30% social housing.
The Seaton development will see 388 public homes within the site will be replaced on a 1:1 basis, as part of the suburb’s reimagining with a mix of houses and apartments to suit the changing needs of the tenants.
Urban renewal will result in an additional 26,000 sqm of new public parks, in addition to the existing Pedlar Reserve. It is expected to be the largest and most complex project of its kind in South Australia since nearby Westwood.
Existing SA Housing Authority tenants will be found alternative accommodation which will gradually occur in stages over the next six years.
Stage one of the redevelopment is already underway. A 2.1-hectare parcel of land was identified for redevelopment in 2019, with 35 tenancies in this area already relocated. Those homes have been demolished to make way for 137 new dwellings.
The government will invest a further $150 million to develop two parcels of vacant land at Port Noarlunga and Noarlunga Downs. The area is approximately 22.8 hectares to the east and west of Lovelock Drive, adjacent to the South Adelaide Football Club.
The project will deliver around 626 new homes – including 80 new SA Housing Authority homes, 15% affordable housing and a minimum of 12.5% new public open space.
Premier Malinauskas said these projects will deliver more than 1900 homes for South Australians in two highly desirable areas.
More importantly, they will offer much needed public, social, affordable and market housing into the market.
“For thirty years state governments have been cutting the number of public homes. We are turning that around. We know housing is a key concern, and we will have more to say on this when we deliver our housing roadmap later this month,” said the premier.
