Budget blow: Perth suburbs with homes under $430,000 revealed
FIRST homebuyer options have been cut in half by a WA Government decision to lower the stamp duty threshold. Find a home under $430,000 in Perth
THE number of suburbs where first home buyers can find a house under the stamp duty threshold has been cut in half after the concession was lowered from $500,000 to $430,000 in yesterday’s State budget.
Just 45 suburbs have median house sale prices of less than $430,000 compared to 89 suburbs with median house prices of less than $500,000, the latest RP Data statistics show.
And the number of suburbs where units are less than the threshold has been cut from 82 to 64.
• STATE BUDGET: HOMEBUYERS HIT
It’s the second hit first home buyers have taken in the past 12 months after the Barnett
Government last September slashed the First Home Owner Grant for people wanting to buy established properties by more than half to $3000.
The stamp duty exemption on new house and land packages, however, remains unchanged in the government’s bid to encourage the construction of new housing stock.
Last August, the State Government also boosted the First Home Owner Grant for new builds from $7000 to $10,000.
Investment expert Gavin Hegney, chief executive of Hegney Property Group, said anything less than $400,000 was a “really hard” price range to buy in the current market.
“You’ve got to make significant compromises on the location or accommodation you’re prepared to live in or buy,” Mr Hegney said.
Strong house and unit price growth over the past decade has made the number of properties for under $400,000 in Perth shrink drastically.
From 2003 to 2013, the percentage of Perth houses sold under $400,000 dropped from 87.2 per cent to 20 per cent, RP Data’s figures show.
And the percentage of units under $400,000 dropped from 91 per cent to 42.5 per cent over the same period.
Here’s a guide to the suburbs with median house prices of less than $430,000 based on RP Data’s latest statistics for the 12 months to February 2014.