In an environment of soft house prices you mean. I quoted Victorian Stamp Duty so I will try an $800,000 outside Melbourne but in Victoria. Not too many couples in the dotage want to change from City to Country and even less do they wish to change the State they live in.
OK. $43,000 is the Stamp Duty on a $800,000 house. How long before the couple receive enough of an Aged Pension to make it worthwhile, do you reckon?
The idea of upgrading one's own property, even extending it if they wish, is far more likely than trading off a bit of Pension for a house with large Stamp Duty component. How long do you reckon the aged couple would need to live in order for that imbalance to be rectified? 200 years?
That $400,000 house you speak of is likely to have been bought when the Stamp Duty was significantly less, particularly should that house have been purchased 20 plus years ago. If purchased only five years ago, the couple have already been slugged the Stamp Duty and virtually they need to pay now the first $400k over again as they don't get a credit for that and the second $400k Stamp Duty - wow.
The arithmetic sure doesn't pan out well at all!!!! lol
