The Property Council of Australia wants stamp duty scrapped on all new builds, the first-home owner grant lifted to $20,000, and a $25,000 bonus for downsizers, as it presses for urgent stimulus to revive Victoria’s housing market.
The proposal would double the current grant: the Victorian Government’s 2026–27 Budget kept the First Home Owner Grant at $10,000 for new homes and extended a temporary off-the-plan stamp duty concession to April 2027, subject to legislation.
The push comes as the market cools. Melbourne values fell 6.2% over the year to September 2026, according to Cotality, while national sales over the past three months were running 19.1% below a year earlier.
The industry group’s case rests on a Roy Morgan survey of 3,863 Victorians, conducted from 8 to 12 October. Four in five respondents (80.7%) blamed the 32 new or increased state property taxes introduced since 2014 for pushing up the cost of owning or renting a home.
Concern about housing costs was widespread, with 88% worried about affordability. Two in three think lighter taxes would bring more private money into housing, and over 40% see taxes and charges as a brake on supply.
Property Council group executive of policy and advocacy Matthew Kandelaars (pictured) said respondents saw the taxes as “squarely to blame for their housing pain”.
“The state’s punishing property tax burden is hurting Victorians, driving away investment and stalling new housing projects,” he said in a media release.
Kandelaars argues homebuyers have retreated and developers can no longer justify new starts, creating a cycle that reaches lenders.
“When buyers disappear, pre-sales dry up, banks won’t finance projects and construction grinds to a halt,” he said.
To get projects moving, the group also wants two taxes abolished. The first is the Absentee Owner Surcharge, which it says penalises local builders who partner with offshore capital such as Dutch or Canadian pension funds. The second is the Windfall Gains Tax, which it says imposes a 50% charge on landowners turning non-productive land into housing.
If adopted, the buyer incentives would land squarely on client groups brokers serve every day: first-home buyers, downsizers, and purchasers of new builds.
In Kandelaars’ words: “Victoria’s housing market is on life support.”
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