Stamp duty concessions reinstated

The reinstatement of the Principal Place of Residence (PPR) stamp duty concession and the removal of sustainability declarations will be enormously beneficial to home owners and real estate professionals, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).

The Treasury (Cost of Living) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 was passed by the Queensland parliament last night which will see home buyers save up to $7,000 in stamp duty from 1 July.

The Bill will also result in sustainability declarations being removed from the selling process within coming weeks.

REIQ CEO Anton Kardash said both policies would be warmly welcomed by everyone involved in the real estate profession.

“The PPR stamp duty concession was removed at a very inopportune time last year when the Queensland economy was still struggling to recover from our summer of natural disasters,” he said.

“Its reinstatement for homes bought as a principal place of residence from 1 July will save buyers thousands but will also re-establish Queensland as one of Australia’s lowest jurisdictions for stamp duty on residential property.

“If you add this to our affordable property prices, compared to other capital cities, then we are likely to start seeing a return of interstate migrants which will be of benefit to our broader economy.”

As a key election policy of the LNP, Mr Kardash said, it was important that the new State Government had kept its promise to address the increasing cost of living pressures on Queenslanders.

“The Queensland property market has had an air of greater confidence since the start of this year, so the return of the PPR concession will add to these strengthening levels of activity,” he said.

The Bill also passed the first stage of the legal process to remove sustainability declarations from the selling process.

The REIQ has been vocal in its opposition to the declarations since their introduction in 2010 given the complex nature of the original declaration resulted in it being simplified to such an extent that it became almost meaningless.

“Research conducted by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) at the end of 2010 also recorded widespread disengagement with the sustainability declaration process from sellers, and even more so, from buyers.  Despite this, sellers were legislatively required to complete these forms to the best of their knowledge prior to the property going to the market,” Mr Kardash said.

“The removal of the declarations is the first step towards reducing red tape in the real estate transaction process. The REIQ, on behalf of its members, thanks the government for eliminating this extraneous piece of paperwork and looks forward to being consulted about other initiatives to help simplify the buying and selling process.”

Sustainability declarations will remain in force until the Bill has received final assent, which is expected to be in the next few weeks.

- REIQ CEO Anton Kardash http://institute.reiq.com/REIQ/Media/2012Releases/Stamp_duty_concessions_rein