A survey on leading WA real estate portal reiwa.com has shown stamp duty is considered a significant barrier to home ownership, particularly for first home buyers and downsizers.
REIWA CEO Cath Hart said REIWA's Housing Issues Survey had received nearly 15,000 responses and particularly highlighted Western Australia's concerns about the impact of stamp duty.
"More than 60 per cent of survey respondents agreed stamp duty was a significant barrier to home ownership in Western Australia," Ms Hart said.
"As we know, strong population growth and low building completions have seen the WA property market experience sustained price growth over recent years with Perth's median property price increasing by 23.3 per cent to $740,000 in the year to December 2024.
"We know that stamp duty is a major contributor to delaying first home buyers from getting onto the property ladder with estimates from ANZ suggesting the time required to save a deposit has climbed to almost 10 years — when you add stamp duty to that, it is a significant financial challenge for first home buyers.
"This aligns with the survey results which showed nearly half of the respondents said they were supportive of raising the First Home Owner Rate of Duty to reflect higher property prices. 25 per cent were neutral, with 28 per cent not in favour."
Currently in WA, first home buyers pay no transfer duty on homes valued up to $450,000 with a concessional rate for homes valued up to $600,000.
Ms Hart said the Housing Issues Survey also showed stamp duty was a deterrent for downsizers.
"63 per cent of respondents said stamp duty was a significant barrier to people downsizing," she said.
"This has a significant impact on housing supply. Many potential downsizers are living in family-sized homes that are simply too big for their needs, and it's these types of homes that are very sought-after by buyers.
"Stamp duty is a significant deterrent, because of the prospect of paying many thousands of dollars in upfront transaction costs to downsize and the alternative is to remain where they are.
"71 per cent of respondents to the survey supported a stamp duty concession to enable people to downsize."
Ms Hart said the survey results reflect REIWA's 2025 Election Platform to support an efficient and effective WA housing market.
"This included increasing the thresholds for both the First Home Owner Rate of Duty concessions and the Home Buyers Assistance Accounts and pegging those thresholds to REIWA's median prices to allow them to move with the market, as well as introducing stamp duty concessions for downsizers to encourage mobility within the market," she said.
"Housing is clearly a key priority for the WA community in the upcoming election and we are pleased to see the strong focus on housing from the various political parties."
REIWA's 2025 Election Platform can be found here: full range of policy proposals.
REIWA Housing Issues Survey via reiwa.com
