ACT Scraps Stamp Duty for First Home Buyers in a National First

Canberra becomes the first Australian jurisdiction to axe stamp duty for first home buyers, while national clearance rates slip below 50% for a third week.

This week delivered a landmark policy shift for first home buyers in Canberra and a string of property market signals worth paying close attention to, according to The Adviser's weekly Hot Property round-up.

ACT Scraps Stamp Duty — A National First

The biggest news for buyers this week came out of Canberra: the ACT has moved to exempt first home buyers from stamp duty entirely, making it the first jurisdiction in Australia to take this step. The Adviser reports that the overhaul reaches well beyond newcomers to the market, signalling this is a broad policy reset rather than a narrow top-up to existing concessions.

Stamp duty is one of the biggest upfront costs of buying a home in Australia. It is a state or territory tax levied on the purchase price of a property and, depending on where you buy, can add tens of thousands of dollars to what a buyer needs to have ready at settlement. When you're already stretched trying to pull together a 5 or 10 per cent deposit, stamp duty is a meaningful additional hurdle.

The ACT's decision removes that hurdle entirely for first home buyers in Canberra. What this means practically is that buyers in the territory can redirect money that would have gone to stamp duty toward a larger deposit, reducing the amount they need to borrow and potentially improving their loan-to-value ratio. A better LVR can mean avoiding Lenders Mortgage Insurance and accessing sharper rates — both of which affect the long-term cost of a loan.

If you're a first home buyer considering Canberra, or you want to understand how upfront costs like LMI factor into your borrowing position, our LMI calculator can help you run the numbers. Our first home buyer hub also covers the main schemes and strategies available to buyers entering the market for the first time.

Whether other states follow the ACT's lead remains to be seen, but this move raises the pressure on governments in larger markets to consider similar reforms.

Clearance Rates Below 50% for a Third Straight Week

The property market is also sending consistent signals of a cooling cycle. Preliminary auction clearance rates across the capitals have slipped below 50 per cent and have remained there for three straight weeks, according to The Adviser. Clearance rates below 50 per cent generally indicate buyer-friendly conditions — vendors are finding it harder to sell, and the urgency that drove the market higher in previous years is notably absent.

Brisbane recorded the most pronounced softening this week. The Adviser reports that Brisbane registered the nation's weakest preliminary auction clearance rate last week, with affordability pressures and a widening gap between buyer and seller expectations weighing on the market. That disconnect between what sellers expect and what buyers are prepared to pay is a defining feature of a market transitioning from seller-driven to buyer-driven conditions.

For buyers, these conditions represent an opportunity to negotiate more carefully and take more time to assess properties without the pressure of competing offers. For existing owners thinking about whether to sell or refinance, the softer auction market is a useful reality check on valuation assumptions.

If you're weighing up whether refinancing makes sense in the current environment, our refinance savings calculator can show you how a rate change would affect your monthly repayments and total interest.

The 5% Deposit Scheme: Who Is It Actually Helping?

The federal government's 5 per cent deposit guarantee scheme was designed to help Australians get into the property market faster, by allowing eligible buyers to purchase with a smaller deposit without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance. But new figures revealed this week raise questions about whether the scheme is reaching the people it was built for.

The Adviser reports that a sizeable slice of the federal government's 5 per cent deposit guarantee is now flowing to high-income households. The implication is that the scheme's eligibility settings may not be preventing higher-earning buyers from accessing what was intended as a support mechanism for more financially stretched first home buyers.

Scheme places are limited, and if they are being taken by buyers who arguably don't need the government's help, fewer slots are available for the buyers the scheme was designed to assist. This is worth keeping in mind if you're planning to rely on the scheme as part of your entry strategy — checking current availability and eligibility carefully before assuming access is strongly advisable.

Owner-Occupier Suburbs Continue to Outperform Investors

One data point worth noting for anyone thinking about long-term property strategy is a 16-year performance comparison reported by The Adviser this week. Owner-occupier-dominated suburbs have recorded up to $148,000 more in capital gains than investor-led areas over the last 16 years, with the unit market dominating that growth.

This long-run evidence suggests that areas where people primarily live — rather than rent out — tend to generate stronger capital growth over time. For investors looking at where to direct their dollars, or for first home buyers deciding between an owner-occupier suburb and an investor hotspot, this historical performance is worth factoring into your thinking alongside rental yield and other metrics.

Our investor hub has more on how to structure investment lending and what to look for in a loan product suited to a long-term hold strategy.

What to Do Now

The ACT stamp duty change is a genuine win for Canberra's first home buyers, and it sets a precedent that buyers in other states will be watching closely. Nationally, the cooling auction market and three consecutive weeks of clearance rates below 50 per cent suggest conditions are continuing to favour buyers in most capitals.

Whether you're buying for the first time, thinking about your next investment purchase, or simply wondering whether your current loan is still competitive, comparing what's available in today's market is a sensible first step. Our cheapest home loan listings give you a current snapshot of where rates sit across lenders.