Rent and mortgages follow the price of homes. This page sets out how much of that price is set by government, using budget papers, ABS data and the published tax scales.
Key findings
1. About 36% of a new Perth house and land package is government cost
- Fact: A 2025 study by the Centre for International Economics (CIE), commissioned by the Housing Industry Association, estimated the total outlay for a new greenfield house and land package in Perth in 2023-24 at about $656,000. Of that, about $237,000 (36%) was statutory taxes, infrastructure charges and the extra cost created by zoning and approval rules. For a new infill apartment the share was 30% (about $149,000).
- Our read: this is an industry-commissioned estimate, not a government figure, but it shows the scale. Perth is lower than Sydney (49%) and Melbourne (43%).
Source: CIE, Taxation of the housing sector, 2025, Charts 1-2 and Table 4.3
2. Stamp duty on the average WA home has more than doubled
- Fact: The ABS mean price of a WA dwelling was $520,400 in the June quarter 2017 and $1,123,700 in the June quarter 2026 (preliminary). On the general transfer duty scale, duty at those prices works out at about $18,700 and $49,000. Prices rose about 116%; duty rose about 161%.
- Our read: duty grows faster than prices because the top bracket still starts at $725,000. First home buyers get an exemption or concession, but anyone moving house pays the full scale.
Sources: ABS, Total Value of Dwellings; RevenueWA, Transfer duty assessment. Duty calculated by us from the published scale.
3. The brackets have not moved since at least 2010
- Fact: The general scale ($1.90 per $100 up to $120,000, rising to $28,453 plus $5.15 per $100 above $725,000) is the same as in the 2010-11 Overview of State Taxes. The State expects to collect $3.6 billion in transfer duty in 2026-27, up from $1.2 billion in 2017-18.
Sources: RevenueWA, Transfer duty assessment; Overview of State Taxes 2010-11; 2026-27 Budget Paper 3, Appendix 2; Annual Report on State Finances 2017-18
4. Development charges add about $25,500 a lot
- Fact: The CIE averaged two Perth greenfield development contribution plans (Anstey Keane in Armadale, and Wungong Urban Water) at $25,541 per lot. Developers pay these charges and build them into the lot price.
Source: CIE 2025, Table A.15
5. Approvals add months, and months cost money
- Fact: The CIE assumed a Perth subdivision approval takes about 8 months, plus another 4 months of delay, and that a house takes about 11.6 months to build (based on ABS building activity data). Each month adds interest, holding costs and land tax, which end up in the final price.
Source: CIE 2025, Table 3.3
6. The land tax free threshold has been $300,000 since 2008
- Fact: Land tax is charged on investment property, including rentals. The $300,000 threshold has not changed since 2008-09. The Budget says land tax revenue is rising with land values "and the number of eligible taxpayers".
- Our read: landlords pass costs on where the market allows, so a frozen threshold reaches renters too.
Sources: Land Tax Act 2002, s5; Overview of State Taxes 2010-11; 2026-27 Budget Paper 3
What could change
- Index stamp duty and land tax thresholds to prices, so they stop rising by stealth.
- Publish approval times for every council and state agency, measured against the legal deadlines.
- Cap development charges and have them independently checked against the cost of the infrastructure they fund.