Stamp Duty in South East Melbourne, The 2026 Guide
If you've found a property you want to buy, stamp duty is the cost that catches most South East Melbourne buyers off guard. Unlike the deposit or the mortgage, it's due upfront at settlement, and in a market where unit medians start around $470,000 and house medians stretch well past $1 million, the number adds up fast.
The good news is that Victoria's transfer duty rules are genuinely generous for first home buyers, and knowing exactly which thresholds apply to your situation can change what you need to have ready on settlement day. Whether you're buying your first place, upgrading, or purchasing an investment, the rules are different for each, and the property type matters too.
Our team helps buyers across South East Melbourne work through the full cost picture before they commit, comparing across 60+ lenders. The home loan structure you choose and the upfront costs you carry into settlement are decisions worth making together.
Key takeaways
- First home buyers pay no duty on properties valued at $600,000 or under.
- A sliding concession applies between $600,001 and $750,000.
- Every approved suburb's house median sits above the $750,000 concession ceiling.
What is stamp duty and how does it work in South East Melbourne?
Stamp duty in Victoria is formally called land transfer duty, and it's a state government tax charged on the transfer of property from one owner to another. You pay it on the dutiable value of the property, which is the greater of the contract price and market value, and it's settled at or before settlement, not added to the mortgage.
The amount is calculated on a sliding scale, and the rate you pay depends on the value of the property, whether it's your principal place of residence, and whether you qualify for any concession or exemption. First home buyers in Victoria have access to genuine relief that other buyers don't, and the rules treat new and established homes the same way, which is different from several other states.
How much stamp duty do first home buyers pay in South East Melbourne?
First home buyers in South East Melbourne can pay no stamp duty at all on a property valued at $600,000 or under. Between $600,001 and $750,000 a sliding concession reduces the bill, and above $750,000 the full standard duty applies with no first home buyer relief. At least one purchaser must be an Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and you must move in within 12 months of settlement and live there for at least 12 months continuously.
Source: State Revenue Office Victoria.
The question we hear most often is whether stamp duty can be added to the loan. It can't, in most cases. It's a settlement cost that needs to be in your account before the keys change hands, and buyers who haven't factored it in properly often find themselves short at the worst possible moment.
Evelyn Clark · Director, Mortgage & Finance Broker · Chat to Evelyn →
What concessions and exemptions apply to South East Melbourne property buyers?
Victoria's transfer duty system carries several layers of relief, and which one applies to you depends on your circumstances.
The relief options worth understanding:
- › First home buyer exemption: full exemption at $600,000 or under, for new and established homes. New Zealand citizens qualify.
- › First home buyer concession: partial reduction on a sliding scale between $600,001 and $750,000. Above $750,000 no concession applies.
- › Off-the-plan (temporary strata) concession: available to all buyers, including investors and companies. Applies to contracts entered on or after 21 October 2024 and before 21 April 2027, for apartments, units or townhouses in a strata subdivision. Construction costs incurred after the contract date are deducted from the dutiable value.
- › Principal place of residence concession: applies to a dutiable value up to $550,000 for any buyer, not just first home buyers. Every house median in the approved suburbs sits above this threshold, so it's relevant only to unit buyers in the lower price brackets.
- › Pensioner or concession-card reduction: full exemption at $600,000 or under, concession to $750,000. You must hold an eligible card at settlement and move in as your principal place of residence.
- › Foreign purchaser additional duty: 8% surcharge on top of standard duty for foreign persons buying residential property. Permanent residents are not affected.
Use the SRO's own duty calculator for your exact figure. The sliding-scale concession between $600,001 and $750,000 produces a different number at every price point, and the calculator handles it precisely.
Source: State Revenue Office Victoria.
What does stamp duty actually cost on a South East Melbourne property?
Here's where the numbers matter for this market. CoreLogic data shows unit medians across the approved suburbs running from $470,000 in Ripponlea to $512,000 in St Kilda and $530,000 in Windsor, all sitting comfortably below the $600,000 first home buyer exemption threshold. A first home buyer purchasing in any of those three suburbs pays no stamp duty at all.
Move into the $600,001 to $750,000 concession band and the duty bill reduces on a sliding scale. Suburbs with unit medians in that range include Elwood at $647,000, South Melbourne at $615,000 and Port Melbourne at $740,000. The exact saving depends on where in the band your purchase sits, and the SRO calculator gives you the figure in seconds.
Above $750,000 the full standard rate applies and there's no first home buyer relief. Bentleigh has a unit median of $935,000, putting it just under the $950,000 federal scheme cap but well above the duty concession ceiling. Toorak, Brighton, Hampton and Albert Park all have unit medians above $1,100,000, so buyers there are paying full transfer duty regardless of first home buyer status.
The pattern across South East Melbourne:
- › Under $600,000 (full exemption): unit medians · Ripponlea, Prahran, Windsor, St Kilda, Balaclava, South Yarra, Oakleigh · no duty for eligible first home buyers
- › $600,001 to $750,000 (sliding concession): unit medians · Elwood, South Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Murrumbeena, Carnegie, Cheltenham, Glen Iris, Glen Huntly, Elsternwick · reduced duty on a sliding scale
- › Above $750,000 (full duty): all house medians and higher-priced unit markets · Brighton, Hampton, Sandringham, Bentleigh, Toorak, Malvern, Albert Park · full standard transfer duty
Source: CoreLogic (via YIP, June 2026) and State Revenue Office Victoria.
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When does stamp duty not make sense to worry about?
It's worth being honest about when the concession thresholds genuinely change your decision and when they don't. If you're a first home buyer with your eye on a house in Moorabbin at a median of $1,280,000 or in Cheltenham at $1,298,750, the first home buyer duty relief is irrelevant. You'll pay full standard transfer duty regardless, and building that cost into your savings target from day one is the right approach, not hoping for a concession that doesn't reach that price point.
If you're an investor or an upgrader, the off-the-plan temporary strata concession is the only structural relief available before April 2027, and it applies only to apartments, units and townhouses in a strata subdivision with common property. A house-and-land package doesn't qualify, and neither does a knockdown rebuild. Getting the contract timing right, and the property type right, is what decides whether the concession is yours to use.
How does a mortgage broker help with stamp duty planning in South East Melbourne?
Stamp duty doesn't sit in isolation from your borrowing position. It's an upfront cost that comes straight out of your usable savings, which directly affects how much deposit you have left and therefore the LVR your lender is looking at. A buyer who has $120,000 saved but faces an $18,000 stamp duty bill has $102,000 available for the deposit, not $120,000, and that difference can push them from 80% LVR to 88%, which changes the product and the cost of the loan.
Whether you're buying in Cheltenham- Bentleigh or Carnegie across South East Melbourne, working through the full cost picture before you make an offer means your borrowing capacity calculation is accurate from the start. We map the duty position alongside the deposit and LVR when we're structuring your loan, so nothing at settlement catches you short.
For first home buyers, the interaction between stamp duty relief and the First Home Guarantee matters too. The Guarantee lets eligible buyers purchase with a 5% deposit without paying LMI, and the South East Melbourne price cap sits at $950,000. Where a purchase falls inside that cap and inside the $600,000 exemption threshold, the combination is significant: no duty and no LMI is a meaningful saving on a first purchase. For the majority of South East Melbourne first home buyers, that means a unit purchase, because every house median in the area sits above the $950,000 cap.
When a first home buyer is close to the $600,000 threshold, I'd usually look hard at whether negotiating the price down by a few thousand dollars is worth it. Moving from $603,000 to $599,000 isn't just a rounding difference; it's the difference between paying a partial concession and paying nothing at all. That's a conversation that happens before the offer, not after.
Evelyn Clark · Director, Mortgage & Finance Broker · Chat to Evelyn →
How to work out your stamp duty and plan for settlement in South East Melbourne, step by step
Step 1: Talk to us
We start by mapping your full cost position, including stamp duty, before you make an offer, so your savings target and borrowing calculation are right from day one.
Step 2: Confirm your eligibility and the applicable concession
We work through whether you qualify for the first home buyer exemption, the off-the-plan concession, or full standard duty, based on your circumstances and the property type.
Step 3: Match your deposit and loan structure to the post-duty position
Once duty is confirmed, we calculate the deposit you have available and match it to lenders across our panel whose products suit that LVR, finding the most suitable loan for your circumstances.
Step 4: Support you through to settlement
We stay across the process so the duty payment, the finance conditions and the settlement date align, and nothing catches you short when the keys change hands.
What goes wrong when buyers don't plan for stamp duty?
Where buyers lose ground:
- › Underestimating the upfront cost: stamp duty is separate from conveyancing, building inspections and the deposit, and buyers who calculate their savings as a single pool find themselves short when settlement arrives.
- › Assuming a concession that doesn't apply: the first home buyer exemption only covers the purchase below $600,000. Buying at $650,000 means a partial concession, not a full one, and the difference matters to the savings plan.
- › Wrong property type for the off-the-plan concession: the temporary strata concession applies to apartments and townhouses in a strata plan, not to house-and-land packages. Buyers who sign on a house-and-land contract expecting the concession don't have it.
- › Not checking the contract date on off-the-plan: the temporary strata concession requires a contract entered on or after 21 October 2024 and before 21 April 2027. A contract signed outside those dates, or settled after the window closes, needs careful checking.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is stamp duty for a first home buyer in South East Melbourne?
Nothing at $600,000 or under, and a sliding partial reduction between $600,001 and $750,000. Above $750,000 the full standard rate applies with no first home buyer relief.
Does the first home buyer duty exemption apply to established homes in South East Melbourne?
Yes. Victoria treats new and established homes the same way for first home buyer duty relief, which is different from several other states. The thresholds and residency conditions are identical for both.
Can stamp duty be added to the home loan in South East Melbourne?
Generally no. Lenders assess borrowing capacity against the property value, not the total purchase costs, so stamp duty needs to be funded from savings. It must be settled at or before settlement day.
Who qualifies for the off-the-plan stamp duty concession on apartments in South East Melbourne?
Any buyer, including investors, companies and trusts, on contracts entered on or after 21 October 2024 and before 21 April 2027 for strata apartments, units or townhouses. House-and-land packages are excluded.
Is a New Zealand citizen eligible for the first home buyer duty exemption in Victoria?
Yes. Victoria's first home buyer duty exemption and concession extend to New Zealand citizens, in addition to Australian citizens and permanent residents. At least one purchaser on the contract must qualify.
Is a mortgage broker or a bank better for planning stamp duty costs in South East Melbourne?
A mortgage broker, every time. A broker maps the full cost position including stamp duty against your deposit and borrowing capacity, then compares products across the panel to find the most suitable loan for the resulting LVR.
Your Next Steps
Stamp duty in South East Melbourne is a cost that responds to the right planning. Whether you're targeting a unit under $600,000 where no duty applies, navigating the sliding scale in the concession band, or buying a house and factoring in the full standard rate, knowing the exact number before you make an offer puts you in a much stronger position at settlement.
The right lender for your situation depends on how stamp duty sits alongside your deposit and the LVR that results, and that's a conversation worth having. Talk to the EverLend team or call 03 7036 3356, and we'll compare your options across 60+ lenders.
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External Resources
EverLend · South East Melbourne · Ever Lend Pty Ltd (ACN 625 080 515), authorised under Australian Credit Licence 517192 · General information only - this article does not constitute financial advice. Please consider your own circumstances and seek professional advice before making any financial decisions.
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