By SCAQ General Manager Laura Bos
No one who calls Queensland home could be immune to our ongoing housing crisis, from tent cities to people desperate for somewhere to live or rent but locked out of the market.
It’s emotive stuff; the kind that brings pressure on governments to act. Which is why it was no surprise to see stamp duty as a key state budget announcement on June 11.
The reveal of higher thresholds for first-home buyer stamp duty concessions was spun as a way to improve home affordability. However, the fine print could quash their ability to find a home at all.
In marriage with the stamp duty changes, the Government plans to raise the foreign investment land tax surcharge to 3% and the Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty to 8%. This adds to an environment in which Queensland – unlike states such as NSW – already taxes entities with part foreign ownership.
According to our colleagues, the Property Council of Australia (PCA), these increases will make Queensland one of the most uncompetitive jurisdictions for these foreign companies. And when you consider how critical their investment is to housing development, it seems like a kill switch. Right when we can least afford it.
We have to build more apartments to meet needs such as urban infill. And investment is key. About 55% of strata properties are investment properties. And build to rent, for one, is largely funded by institutional developers backed by foreign investment.
Knowing this, it seems obvious the surcharge and duty changes will impact the development funding pipeline. Which is especially concerning given the PCA already predicts factors like skyrocketing construction costs will leave the apartment market in Brisbane – to name just one city – critically short of the 7500 attached dwellings needed annually.
In short, it’s important to boost housing affordability. But without funding to develop it in the first place, what’s the point?
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