First-home buyers Ryan Soule and Diana Yopasa have been hit with a massive $52,070 stamp duty bill after buying in Reservoir. Picture: Wayne Taylor
Ryan Soule and Diana Yopasa were shocked to find their first home after just six weeks of searching.
But they are not surprised to hear first-home buyers are being pushed beyond the stamp duty thresholds meant to help them into the market.
The couple recently bought in Reservoir after shifting their search from Brunswick, where finding a house within reach had become increasingly difficult.
“We loved Brunswick, but we had to be realistic about what we could afford,” Mr Soule said.
RELATED: The Block star backs radical show reboot
$333 fine leads wild Aussie neighbour wars
Local buyer holds trump card to secure quirky home
“Reservoir still gave us what we wanted. It was close enough to the city, it had the train and it still felt like somewhere we could build a life.”
Ms Yopasa said the speed of the search had been unexpected.
“It happened a lot quicker than we thought,” she said.
“You know buying your first home is going to be stressful, but until you are actually doing it, you don’t realise how quickly you have to make decisions.”
The move will take them further from the inner north, but the pair said Reservoir offered the train access, neighbourhood feel and city connection they wanted.
Their purchase also puts them in one of the suburbs showing how far Melbourne’s first-home buyer market has moved beyond the state’s stamp duty concession caps.
Ryan Soule and Diana Yopasa gave up their Brunswick property search to buy in Reservoir, but were still caught by the state government’s stamp duty trap. Picture: Wayne Taylor
Reservoir’s median house price is about $950,000, leaving a standard buyer with a stamp duty bill of about $52,070.
The state’s full stamp duty exemption for first-home buyers cuts out at $600,000, while the sliding concession ends once a home reaches $750,000.
Mr Soule said a Liberal-Nationals proposal to scrap stamp duty for first-home buyers on homes worth up to $1m would have made a major difference.
“It would have been huge,” he said.
“That money could have gone towards the house, furniture, fixing things or just giving us a bit more breathing room.”
Ms Yopasa said the extra costs that came with buying were difficult to ignore, even after saving a deposit.
“You focus so much on getting the deposit together, but then there is everything else on top,” she said.
“It all adds up really quickly.”
The couple said using a buyer’s agent helped take some of the pressure out of the process and gave them confidence to move quickly when the right home came up.
“It made a stressful process feel a lot more manageable,” Mr Soule said.
“You still have to make a huge decision, but having someone guide you through it made a big difference.”
Ryan Soule and Diana Yopasa say an opposition proposal to scrap stamp duty for first homes under $1m would have given them vital breathing room. Picture: Wayne Taylor
For Mr Soule and Ms Yopasa, the Reservoir home marks the end of a short but intense search, and the beginning of a new chapter outside the suburb they had been renting in.
But their experience also shows how quickly first-home buyers looking for a house can be forced beyond the thresholds designed to help them.
“We’re really excited,” Ms Yopasa said.
“It feels like a big change, but it also feels like the right one.”
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE: Sad new divorce reality gripping Australia
MasterChef stars’ food empires revealed
Inside Melbourne’s ultimate $5.5m hideaway
david.bonaddio@news.com.au
English (US) · 