Calls for SA government to assist market

Calls for SA government to assist market

Posted on Tuesday, December 31 2013 at 10:08 AM

SA property academic Peter Koulizos says the removal of the grant will have a negative impact on the industry.

The Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) in South Australia
has called on the State Government to extend the cut-off for the housing
construction grant beyond Tuesday, December 31.

The $8500 payment was introduced in October 2012 and is granted to
residents who build new homes.

UDIA executive director Terry Walsh says the housing industry in SA
needs the grant in order to assist with the recovery of the housing market,
which is still sluggish.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if this was shortlived and there was some other
announcement of an incentive by both parties leading up to the election.

“The housing construction grant has certainly helped the housing
industry and the economy here in South Australia and if they withdraw it
permanently it will have a negative impact,” he says.

“If you look at the national data, South Australia is lagging behind the
majority of the country, so if the purpose of it was to stimulate the housing
industry it would need to remain until we set out to achieve what we needed to
achieve and that could be years.”

Meanwhile, the Real Estate Institute of SA (REISA) has called on the State
Government to reduce the amount of stamp duty applied to house sales in the
state.

REISA chief executive officer Greg Troughton slammed the cost of stamp
duty and says, coupled with land tax, it is incarcerating potential investment
in the state, according to a News Limited report.

Koulizos agrees, saying there should be no stamp duty for properties
under the median house price.

“I think there should be no stamp duty. If we go back many years there
was supposed to be no stamp duty when the GST came in,” Koulizos says.

“So, if they’re going to keep stamp duty they need to eliminate it for
cheaper homes, anything less than the median house price there should be no
stamp duty. That way you are truly making housing more affordable.”

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