Malcolm is the president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, as well as the principal of Gunning Commercial, which has offices in Hurstville and Surry Hills in Sydney. He was previously president of the Real Estate Institute of NSW
We are disappointed at the decision by the NSW Government to refuse to act to reinstate first home buyer grants on existing property, which again highlights that the Treasurer and Premier are out of touch with the market.
Now is the time to give back to first home buyers and make selling more attractive to older Australians who are sitting on the family home because of stamp duty bracket creep.
People should not be afraid of the current property market conditions.
Land tax is a narrow based tax that only applies to property. It should be replaced by an increased GST.