Member for Castle Hill Ray Williams said first home buyers in the area were continuing to take up stamp duty relief from the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government as new figures were released for December and January.

Latest figures show that since the policy began in July 2017, approximately 7,213 first home buyers have taken up stamp duty concessions or exemptions in the Western Sydney Region.

New figures released by Revenue NSW show that take up of the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme has now reached more than 19,000 since July 2017 when the package commenced as part of the NSW Budget.

The package means that first home buyers for both new and existing homes for properties priced up to $650,000 are exempt from paying stamp duty and can access a reduction in stamp duty for first homes priced between $650,000 and $800,000.

Mr Williams said they were delighted there was more than a tripling in the number of people who have been accessing the stamp duty relief since the measure came into effect in July, compared to the same period last year.

“Housing affordability is a major issue across the state and so it is heartening to see that this package will allow people to take a step closer to securing the keys to their new home,” Mr Williams said.

“If you are still undecided about whether you can afford to buy a home I want the people of Castle Hill to know about the stamp duty relief package and invite them to see if 2018 could be the year they can get into the housing market.

“The Liberal and National government is focused on cutting the costs of living, whether that’s the price of your child’s weekend sport through the active kids rebate, reducing the cost of commuting through toll road relief, the energy rebate to help put downward pressure on energy bills or the cost of buying your first home.

“The Berejiklian-Barilaro Government committed to housing affordability after the previous Labor government allowed the situation to stagnate,” Mr Williams said.