NSW first home buyers' benefits and stamp duty exemptions: make sure your advice is up to date

I’ve had the unpleasant experience recently in having to explain to a number of clients who have shopped for property, experienced the usual anxiety and excitement, seen their finance adviser & assured of finance, that the entitlement or benefit their finance adviser explained they’d receive, that they actually won’t.  Even though it was someone else who provided incorrect or out of date advice, I’m made out to feel like the Grinch because I provided the correct advice as what the current law is!

So, here is what I hope is a quick and simple statement of what the NSW situation is regarding stamp duty exemptions and first home owners’ benefits for contracts made on or 1 October 2012 to date.

First home buyers
Current scheme is the First Home Owner Grant (New Homes) Scheme.

Where the property is $650,000.00 or less, a first home buyer who buys or builds a new home is eligible for a $15,000.00 grant.

This grant reduces to $10,000.00 for contracts made from 1 January 2014.

In addition, there is an exemption from paying stamp duty when buying a new home, or vacant land where a new home is to be built.  This applies for homes priced up to $650,000.00, and vacant land up to $450,000.00.

Non first home buyers

There is now the NSW New Home Grant Scheme. 

Non first-home buyers are entitled to a grant of $5,000.00 if they buy a newly built home (including "off the plan" purchases), priced up to $650,000.00.  If the duty normally payable happens to be less than $5,000.00, the difference is given as a grant.

Non first-home buyers who buy vacant land priced up to $450,000.00 with the intention of building a new home on it are also receive the grant.

 

Regional Relocation Grant

The RegionalRelocation (Home Buyers Grant) is about helping previous owners of a metropolitan property with the cost of relocating to a regional home with a one-off grant of $7,000.00.
 

The price of the regional home must not exceed $600,000.00 (or $450,000.00 for vacant land). There are other requiremnets, but these are the major ones.

 

That’s it!

There’s no more $7,000.00 first home owners grant, no more reduced stamp duty, no more new home buyers’ supplement, no more first home owner boost.

If you’re in the process of buying now and you’re advised differently to what’s above, or there is a question mark about what benefits exactly you might be entitled to, or just to check your eligibility, see your solicitor first.