Good morning,

I hope you had a lovely weekend.

The State Government’s economic rebuild plan is currently underway with strong rumours that they are considering revamping land transfer duty (stamp duty).   The revamp is said to be abolishing the land transfer duty and implementing an annual land tax which is said to be a cheaper alternative.

The proposal states that the annual land tax will be calculated on a sliding scale based on the value of the land.  The more expensive the land, the more tax to be paid.  The purpose of decreasing the substantial upfront costs is to enable property to be more affordable.  This would come at a huge cost as the current system draws in $6 billion of revenue each year.  It will be interesting to see how this pans out over the coming weeks.

On another note, the REIV released the March 2020 quarter median house and unit prices last week with the Melbourne median house price increasing to $890,000 for the first time.  This comes after two consecutive quarters of growth.  The median unit (townhouse, units and apartments) price for Melbourne also reach a record high of $641,000.

It was great to wake up to some positive news that two states have plans to start easing Coronavirus restrictions and lets hope the new case numbers remain low and other states will start following suit in the not too distant future.

Keep warm this week, it’s going to be cold one.

Kim Easterbrook

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Rental Property of the week

FOR LEASE
16 Osborne Street, South Yarra – $465 per week

In the heart of South Yarra, this semi-detached home consists of two bedrooms, main bedroom with BIR, open plan living & dining, generous kitchen, updated bathroom and a secluded courtyard at the rear. Premier location close to Chapel street’s bars & cafes, within metres of the Prahran Market for all of your fresh produce and an abundance of public transport options on your doorstep with trams on Toorak road and Commercial Road and only a short stroll to South Yarra station. This home represents great affordability for South Yarra.

Please call the office on 03 9592 1122 if you are interested to view.

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Refer A Friend and Receive a $200 Voucher to Stokehouse.

Refer a friend to our Buyer Advocacy or Property Management services and enjoy a $200* voucher to Stokehouse Restaurant for a relaxing lunch or dinner by the Bay in St Kilda.

Please contact our team on 9592 1122 or email [email protected]

* Offer applies to a referral that leads to the engagement of our services.