New property laws land Carr in a hole

New property laws land Carr in a hole: poll
By Frank Walker
April 11, 2004
The Sun-Herald

The State Coalition has gained an extraordinary 6 percentage points in support and would come close to winning government if an election were held today, an exclusive poll by The Sun-Herald has found.

The poll, which was conducted in the two days after the mini-budget announced major changes to property tax, shows Premier Bob Carr would hold on to power only with preferences from the Greens, who further expanded their support.

The poll found 36 per cent would vote for Labor, down from 43.2 per cent at the state election in March last year. The Liberal-National Coalition would get 40 per cent of the primary vote, up from 34.3 per cent at the election.

Support for the Greens leapt to 14 per cent, a jump from the 2003 election when the Green vote doubled to 8 per cent.

On Tuesday the State Government announced a raft of changes to property taxes as part of its mini-budget, including the scrapping of stamp duty for first home buyers of properties costing up to $500,000 and phasing out at $600,000.

It also announced that land tax would be extended to all investment properties from July next year, and that vendors would pay a 2.25 per cent stamp duty when an investment property was sold.

The property tax plan has had mixed reviews from experts, with many hailing the removal of the stamp duty for first home buyers but criticising the move to lift taxes on investment properties.

More than half of those polled said the extra tax on investment property would be bad for the economy, while 70 per cent said the property tax cuts for first home buyers would benefit the economy.

Almost half said the increased stamp duty on investment properties made it less likely they would buy property.

Although 43 per cent of those polled said property prices would be an issue at the next election, they said their major concerns were health and education.

Pollster Philip Mitchell-Taverner said the findings showed a clear resurgence for the Liberals.

“It was a bigger move than we expected,” Mr Mitchell-Taverner said. “We asked how they would vote before any mention of mini-budget issues.

“People were very strong in saying health and education were the biggest election issues, with health way out in front. When we asked people which issue was the most important, 31 per cent said health – double that of education at 15 per cent and way ahead of the NSW economy at 12 per cent.”

Despite the strong showing for the Liberals, their Leader John Brogden still trails Bob Carr as favoured premier by 51 per cent to 39 per cent.

The poll found that Labor was only marginally ahead of the Coalition when it came to who is better at running the economy.

First home buyers should look to the Blue Mountains to find a house that will not attract stamp duty, a Home Price Guide survey has found.

None of the 22 suburbs in the Blue Mountains has a median price about $500,000, the price at which first home buyers start paying stamp duty.

Hey, sister, this house is for you
April 11, 2004
The Sun-Herald

The controversial changes to property legislation announced in the Carr Government’s mini budget did not stop people bidding at auctions yesterday.

The auction of an Earlwood home, one of just a handful of auctions listed, drew at least 50 onlookers and three bidders were vying for the house, despite the sale being held on a holiday weekend.

Maria Duggan, who was bidding on behalf of her sister, secured the 1920s freestanding brick house for $766,000.

Mrs Duggan had spotted the house for sale and told her sister about it as she wanted her close by.

“I live across the road and I want her to live here,” she said.

The three-bedroom home is on a 506-square-metre block, has an original kitchen and a formal dining room with a fireplace.

One couple looking at properties yesterday was Peter Lewis and Vanessa Celeban, both 24, from Emu Plains.

The couple, who didn’t think they had saved enough to own a house in Sydney despite living at her mother’s granny flat for a year, were relieved after the State Government announced on Tuesday it would scrap stamp duty for first-home buyers.

Now they have their eye on a four-bedroom brick house in Leonay.

Mr Lewis, a scaffolder, said that before the announcement their absolute limit on a property had been $400,000.

Now it is $500,000, which means a better house and potentially more land, including possibly a small farm or acreage.

To earn the money to pay the stamp duty for a $500,000 house would equate to about three months’ work, Mr Lewis said.

“Dont be looking in your back yard for a four leaf clover when the opportunity of a lifetime could be knocking on your front door….”