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With the federal government’s 2017 Budget announced last month and recent announcements by the NSW state government, some positive changes for first home buyers and existing home owners are promised in the near future to help with housing affordability, including:

• The First Home Super Saving Scheme will allow first home buyers to make voluntarily contributions of up to $30,000 into their superannuation at the superannuation tax rate of 15%, rather than at marginal income tax rates, for withdrawal later as a house deposit.
• In NSW, new stamp duty exemptions and concessions are planned from 1 July 2017, with no stamp duty to be payable for first home buyers purchasing new and existing homes for up to $650,000 and concessions for properties purchased for up to $800,000.
• Stamp duty on lenders mortgage insurance will also be abolished for first home buyers.
• For those over the age of 65 who are wanting to downsize their homes, there will be the ability from July 2018 to sell and deposit an additional after-tax amount of up to $300,000 from the sale proceeds into their superannuation on top of existing caps. This measure is hoped to improve housing affordability by increasing the supply of bigger homes available for purchase.

Please note that these measures may not yet have been passed through the various levels of government yet, so it would be best to seek legal and/or financial advice before proceeding with any of the above.

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