It’s time to stop half-arseing stamp duty reform

A wise man once said: “Don’t half-arse two things. Whole arse one thing.” Real Estate Editor Tom Bowden says it’s time the government started whole-arseing stamp duty reform.

“Don’t be part of the problem … be the whole problem.”

It’s a quote I have above my work desk and it’s helped get me through the occasional down day.

It is, of course, meant to be taken with the irony with which it was intended. It’s not meant to be followed, unlike those decals you see on people’s living room walls sometimes.

You know the ones.

“Dance like no one’s watching, love like you’ve never been hurt, sing like no one’s listening and live like it’s heaven on earth.”

Or the classic: “In this house we do real, we do mistakes, we do ‘I’m sorry’, we do fun, we do hugs, we do second chances, we do happy, we do forgiveness, we do really loud, we do family, we do love.” Those big wall stickers are the best. Every South Australian home should have one. Print’s a tricky medium to get sarcasm right in …

But nonetheless, there it is: “Don’t be part of the problem … be the whole problem.”

There’s an issue plaguing househunters I feel has unfortunately really leant into the literal interpretation of this quote – stamp duty.

Stamp duty sucks. These guys get it.

It’s a scourge and an issue the Real Estate Institute of Australia has recently kicked up a stink about. I’ve been Real Estate Editor here for about 10 years now and industry bodies have been calling for it to either be abolished or reformed for all of that time. But nothing’s really changed. And why would it?

As far as the government’s concerned, it’s money for jam. And it’s good money, too.

This couple is so disheartened by how much stamp duty they had to pay they are crying on a boat.

When my wife and I bought our home, stamp duty on our below-median priced home was more than $16,000. That’s $16,000 we had to factor into our househunting, working out what our maximum spend could be, deducting the stamp duty from this and then looking at homes in that price range, often disappointed to find across most lower price brackets that $15,000 to $20,000 difference could see you priced out of a suburb or house type altogether.

With home value growth in recent years, it’s harder than ever for buyers. On a $641,000 home – Adelaide’s current median according to PropTrack’s Home Price Index – stamp duty is $29,085.

This woman has just told her husband and daughter she wished they’d paid more stamp duty. Her ideologies are tearing this family apart.

You’re effectively buying the government a mid-sized car just because you dared to want to live the Great Australian Dream.

It’s an enormous barrier to getting people into their own homes. Given the flow-on effects to the economy, we should be making it as easy as possible for those who want to put down roots in our great state.

Sure, governments have offered the odd incentive here and there, benefiting some buyers over others over the years, but all attempts to address the issue have thus far felt rather half-arsed. It’s time the state government had a good hard look at its policies and committed to stamp duty reform.

Another of my favourite quotes is by Ron Swanson from the TV show Parks & Recreation: “Don’t half-arse two things. Whole arse one thing.”

The state government has been part of the problem on this issue for long enough.

It’s time for it to be the solution. Whole-arse it this time …