Stamp Duty Costs Soar

The cost of stamp duty is rising at a faster pace than incomes, with costs between 2.7 and 3.4 times higher across the eastern capitals since 2000.

Domain analysis shows stamp duty payable on a median-priced house in Sydney was 44.5% of gross household disposable income per capita in 2000 and 119.7% in 2024.

In Melbourne, it rose from 36.5% to 109.3% over the same period and in Brisbane, it rose from 19.5% to 66.3%.

Domain chief of research and economics, Dr Nicola Powell, says there are two reasons for the big increases.

She says median house prices have grown, and stamp duty thresholds remained largely the same in most states until 2019, which led to a bracket creep effect.

Powell says high stamp duty costs mean some buyers who want to move, whether to upsize or downsize, will weigh up the cost and decide not to.

“You will get some homeowners who factor in the cost of stamp duty and stay put. They renovate or extend,” she says.