Western Australia's State Budget this year has laid out several policies that would support the local housing market.
Among the policies is the amendment to Keystart’s Urban Connect pilot program, which will now include one-bedroom apartments.
The program, which provides Urban Connect Home Loans, creates an opportunity for buyers to break into the market without having to shell out a huge amount for a deposit. Urban Connect was first rolled out last year, with the aim of supporting medium and high-density living.
The program was originally intended for buyers gunning for apartments with at least two bedrooms.
Housing Minister John Carey said the expansion of the program's eligibility shows the government’s commitment to provide support would-be buyers in the state.
“We’ve made changes to Keystart’s Urban Connect Home Loan product to give more Western Australians the opportunity to achieve their home ownership goals.
Meanwhile, there are talks for a new Keystart loan program that will help customers secure pre-sale off-the-plan properties.
Tax reforms and incentives
Also included in the state government’s commitments this year is delivering tax reform and incentives to boost housing and land supply.
The government will set aside $33m to fund the off-the-plan transfer duty concession that will run until the end of June 2025.
“We continue to deliver a range of important tax reforms and incentives that will provide a boost to housing and land supply, while continuing to work with industry to cut red tape,” Mr Carey said.
“Our commitment in this Budget to extend the off-the-plan transfer duty rebate and lift the threshold for exemptions and concessions is a clear incentive to build new apartments and provide more opportunity for Western Australians to downsize or buy their first home.”
Here are the changes to the thresholds for exemptions and concessions:
- 100% concession for properties valued up to $650,000 (up from $500,000).
- Phasing down to a 50% concession for properties valued at more than $750,000 (from $600,000)
These changes build on the state’s measures to boost housing supply throughout Western Australia, building on the $80m Infrastructure Development Fund, which removes headworks barriers to new housing developments.
The state government is also delivering $55m in strategic water and wastewater infrastructure to unlock more than 15,000 new homes across Perth.
This is part of the efforts to encourage more infill in key sites across Perth that are close to amenity and METRONET hubs and create vibrant and liveable communities.
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Photo by Studio Australia on Canva.
