The Housing Industry Association (HIA) yesterday released a report lamenting the high cost of stamp duty in Australia, which “makes household indebtedness worse by increasing required borrowings” and damages the “long-term financial well-being of ordinary homebuyers”:
“The typical homebuyer in Victoria is hit with a $24,100 stamp duty bill, the highest in the country,” remarked Shane Garrett. “In states like New South Wales and Western Australia, the average homeowner can look forward to handing almost $20,000 over to the state government before the removals truck even arrives,” Shane Garrett pointed out. “In all but two of the eight jurisdictions, stamp duty will set buyers back at least $15,000 on the median-priced home.”
