Stamp duty (transfer duty) is often the biggest cost after the deposit, and for first home buyers in NSW it can be reduced or removed altogether. The rules are set by Revenue NSW and do change, so check the current figures with them or your conveyancer before you rely on them.
The First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme
For an existing or new home, there's no transfer duty if the price is up to $800,000, and a reduced amount between $800,000 and $1 million. Above $1 million, full duty applies. For vacant land you intend to build on, the thresholds are $350,000 and $450,000.
You need to meet the eligibility rules, which include being an Australian citizen or permanent resident, being over 18, never having owned residential property in Australia, and moving in within 12 months and living there for at least six continuous months.
The First Home Owner Grant
The grant is separate, and only applies to new homes: a home that has never been lived in, a house and land package, or one you build yourself, within price caps set by Revenue NSW. In new estates such as Calderwood and Tullimbar, it's worth asking whether the home or package you're looking at qualifies.
What it means locally
Across Shellharbour and the Shoalhaven, plenty of townhouses, villas and smaller homes sell below the full exemption threshold. In parts of Shell Cove and Kiama, most houses sell above it. Our suburb pages show the median house and unit prices for each suburb, from NSW Valuer General sales data, which is a good place to start.
Before you make an offer, have your finance pre-approved and your conveyancer lined up, so you can move quickly when the right home comes up.
