PRICES DROP – STAMP DUTY DROPS

When you think of the Sydney property market going through its end of boom period with prices declining and investor activity looking to elsewhere other than real estate, you have to look into this closer and say is this market benefiting anyone? The now non-buying investor definitely has an impact, the return and affordability has to be weighed up by them, banks and non-banking institutions are abiding by the rules of the Royal Commission so that it supposedly protects the consumer when borrowing and asserts authority to make sure financiers are following the correct guidelines/procedures when lending. One small bit of bright light at the moment is that when you transfer your property into some else’s name or add someone to title the stamp duty amount is determined by the value of the property, so when property prices drop so does the amount of stamp duty you have to pay. Some may think this may not be a significant amount but, every saving in your pocket certainly helps.