NT Real Estate industry says Govt killing first homebuyer market in Budget

The Real Estate industry says first home buyers have been dudded in the 2021-22 NT Budget by the Gunner Government and the market will be killed after June 30.

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The Real Estate industry says first home buyers have been dudded in the 2021-22 NT Budget by the Gunner Government and the market will be killed after June 30.

Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory chief executive officer Quentin Kilian said taking away the tax incentive for first home buyers from June 30 is a backward step.

REINT boss Quentin Kilian. Photograph: Che Chorley

“You’ll get a rush of activity up until June 30 and then new home purchasing will be stymied after that because first home buyers will have to come up with the extra $25,000 in stamp duty,” Mr Kilian said.

“This is going to kill the first homebuyer market and this will be particularly so for the Alice Springs and Katherine markets where there are no new builds at the moment.

“So you have first home buyers who were looking at buying rather than renting being forced back into an already under supply rental market.

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“It doesn’t make sense why the government has done this.

It is extremely short sighted. We have just started to rebuild the housing market after the best part of five years going backwards dramatically and the NT Government is taking away the incentives that are currently rebuilding the market.

“With the tax incentives it is foregone stamp duty rather than a grant. You give a grant out you are actually giving money out of your pocket.

“When you forgo the revenue of stamp duty you are still going to make it up at some point. If you bring a first homebuyer into the market now and forego part of that revenue stream, at some point in the life cycle of their house they are going to upgrade and you get stamp duty on a much larger house.”