FULL LIST: Sydney suburbs where you won’t pay NSW stamp duty
We've crunched the numbers to identify the 36 Sydney suburbs where first home buyers can buy a unit with no stamp duty.
Last week the NSW Government announced that stamp duty exemptions for first home buyers are now available for established homes worth up to $650,000.
The exemption comes into force 1 July and can save first home buyers around $24,000 on their first purchase. The challenge for aspiring Sydney residents is finding an established property that falls under that threshold. Sydney property prices remain high despite some recent evidence of a slowdown.
To help you out, we conducted research to find out how many suburbs in Sydney actually offer properties worth under $650,000. While the $650,000 cap won't see you able to buy a house, we found 36 suburbs which have enjoyed median unit sale prices of under $650,000 over the last 12 months, using Corelogic data on sale prices. (It's almost impossible to find a house in Sydney that meets the criteria, so we focused on units. We also ignored suburbs with fewer than 20 units sales in the last 12 months.)
Some good value suburbs found in the research were Kogarah and Eastlakes, with median unit prices of $603,000 and $598,500 respectively. The cheapest suburbs to buy a unit and take advantage of the exemption were Belrose, Lakemba, Wiley Park, Punchbowl and Roselands which all had median unit prices below $500,000.
One surprising inclusion in the list is Rushcutters Bay, which is less than 2km from the CBD. While it did match the criteria in the data, that's likely to be influenced by a group of sales of smaller units. Median unit prices for the last three months are at $790,500, so it's not the first place we'd suggest looking for a bargain.
That exception aside, most suburbs in the list are at least 10km from the CBD. However, that doesn't mean you have to be faced with a super-lengthy commute if you work in the city, as there are lots of choices in the 10km-20km range.
Below is a graphic showing the findings of our research, as well as the data in searchable table format. We've also added in a purple pin to show where Sydney CBD is in relation to these suburbs:
Suburbs with median unit sale prices under $650,000 (ranked by property price)
| Suburb | Median unit price last 12 months (rank) | Approximate distance to CBD |
|---|---|---|
| Belrose | $400,000 | 15.1 km |
| Lakemba | $410,000 | 13.5 km |
| Wiley Park | $411,000 | 15.1 km |
| Punchbowl | $470,000 | 16.6 km |
| Roselands | $499,500 | 13.7 km |
| Merrylands | $507,750 | 20.4 km |
| Chester Hill | $510,000 | 19.0 km |
| Belmore | $515,500 | 12.7 km |
| Auburn | $520,000 | 17.2 km |
| Sefton | $522,500 | 18.9 km |
| Prospect | $530,000 | 28.2 km |
| Ropes Crossing | $537,500 | 41.4 km |
| Rosehill | $539,000 | 18.3 km |
| Berala | $540,000 | 16.6 km |
| Croydon Park | $568,000 | 9.9 km |
| Penshurst | $580,500 | 15.8 km |
| Wentworthville | $585,000 | 22.9 km |
| Mays Hill | $590,000 | 21.1 km |
| Brookvale | $590,000 | 12.4 km |
| Eastlakes | $598,500 | 6.7 km |
| Kogarah | $603,000 | 13.2 km |
| Homebush West | $608,000 | 13.2 km |
| Campsie | $612,000 | 11.4 km |
| Silverwater | $620,000 | 15.2 km |
| Parramatta | $620,000 | 20.1 km |
| Meadowbank | $630,000 | 12.9 km |
| Rockdale | $630,000 | 11.7 km |
| Greenacre | $632,000 | 15.3 km |
| Rushcutters Bay | $635,000 | 1.8 km |
| Beverly Hills | $638,000 | 15.4 km |
| Telopea | $640,050 | 17.7 km |
| Carlton | $641,000 | 13.9 km |
| Potts Hill | $642,500 | 16.8 km |
| Strathfield South | $645,000 | 13.0 km |
| Woodcroft | $649,990 | 32.9 km |
| Homebush | $650,000 | 11.8 km |
Whichever state you plan to reside in, our stamp duty calculator can help you work out how much stamp duty will cost you.
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