Transactions rising
Property transactions are now on the rise again, according to the latest statistics from the NSW Revenue Office.
The annualised stamp and transfer duty collections dipped further to below $7 billion, due to the one-off WestConnex transaction dropping out, but the rebound is now confirmed as on.
Transfer duties are forecast to increase at an average annual rate of 7.3 per cent per annum over the four years to 2023, according to the NSW Budget.
Transfer duty thresholds are now at last to be indexed to the Sydney Consumer Price Index henceforth, effective 1 July 2019.
With the exception of a 2004 additional levy on residential transactions above $3 million, thresholds had been frozen in time since 1986.
Land taxes have been an even bigger rip-off.
Land values fell in the 2019 financial year, but good luck seeing any of that reflected in rates and land taxes.
And people complain about affordability...what a rort!
Total land values across the state fell -5.3 per cent in FY 2019 to $1.73 trillion, despite increases commercial, industrial, and even rural land values.
Rural land values managed to increase even in the face of drought on strong demand for stock and commodity prices, and improved infrastructure.
It's too early to determine the impact of bushfires on regional property prices, however, according to the Valuer General.
Dip reverse
I normally run a chart of NSW land values by Local Government Area, but that's probably now pointless due to a methodology change, which renders the pre-2016 data no longer directly comparable.
In short, land values fell by about -5 per cent in the Western Suburbs, but there were some steeper double digit declines, especially at the top end of the market (cf. Mosman, Hunters Hill, Woollahra, Waverley, Strathfield, et al) although these declines were almost immediately reversed in H2 2019.
In summary, there was a sharp downturn in activity over a two-year stretch, but things are now expected to pick up solidly over the next four years.
