Buying a house in New South Wales: checklist
In New South Wales you generally get a cooling-off period of 5 business days after signing a private treaty contract, and none at all at auction. The seller must give you a contract for sale with the prescribed documents attached before you sign. Stamp duty, first home buyer concessions and grants are set by New South Wales and change regularly, so check the current rules with the revenue office before you budget. Everything else, from pre-approval to settlement, follows the same eight stages as anywhere in Australia.
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What is different about buying in New South Wales?
- Cooling-off period
- 5 business days
- Forfeit 0.25% of the price if you withdraw. There is never a cooling-off period on a property bought at auction.
- What the seller must give you
- Contract for sale with prescribed documents attached before you sign
- The thing that catches buyers out
- The standard contract has no finance clause. Unless you negotiate one, the cooling-off period is your only way out if finance falls through.
Stamp duty and first home buyers in New South Wales
- First home buyer duty relief
- No duty up to $800,000, then a sliding concession to $1,000,000. Applies to established and new homes alike.
- First Home Owner Grant
- $10,000 First Home Owner Grant, new or substantially renovated homes only.
Thresholds and grant amounts change, sometimes mid-year, so confirm the current rules with the revenue office before you budget on them.
The buying checklist
These eight stages apply wherever you buy. Your progress is saved in this browser.
47 steps
What should you do before you start looking?
Work out what you are actually buying and why. Buyers who skip this stage tend to bid on the wrong property at the right price.
What does buying a house actually cost?
The purchase price is not the amount you need. Stamp duty, legal fees, inspections and lenders mortgage insurance are all paid on top, mostly before you get the keys.
How do you get your finance ready?
Pre-approval tells you what you can borrow and shows an agent you are a real buyer. It is a conditional answer, not a guarantee.
How do you research a suburb properly?
Two streets in one suburb can behave differently. Look at sold prices rather than asking prices, and visit at more than one time of day.
What should you check when inspecting a property?
An open home is a sales environment. Go back a second time, and never rely on your own eyes for anything structural.
How do you make an offer or bid at auction?
The rules differ sharply. A private treaty offer usually has a cooling-off period; a winning auction bid is binding on the spot, with no cooling off and no finance condition.
What happens between contract and settlement?
Everything you conditioned the contract on has to be satisfied inside its deadlines. Missing one can cost you the deposit.
What do you need to do after buying a house?
The short administrative tail most checklists stop before. Doing it in the first fortnight avoids the expensive version later.
Buying somewhere else?
Buying in New South Wales?
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Sources
Government charges, concessions and cooling-off rules change. Everything below was checked on 3 September 2026. Confirm the figures with the relevant authority before you commit to a purchase.
- First Home Buyers (Australian Government) — 5% Deposit Scheme, Help to Buy and First Home Super Saver Scheme rules and price caps
- Moneysmart (ASIC) — Upfront costs, lenders mortgage insurance and buying process guidance
- Revenue NSW — NSW transfer duty rates and first home buyer thresholds
- State Revenue Office Victoria — Victorian land transfer duty rates and concessions
- Queensland Revenue Office — Queensland transfer duty rates and first home concessions
- RevenueWA — Western Australian transfer duty rates and first home owner rate
- RevenueSA — South Australian conveyance duty and first home buyer relief
- State Revenue Office Tasmania — Tasmanian property transfer duty rates and concessions
- ACT Revenue Office — ACT conveyance duty and the Home Buyer Concession Scheme
- Territory Revenue Office (NT) — Northern Territory stamp duty and home owner assistance
This checklist is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. It does not account for your circumstances. Get advice from a licensed professional before acting on it.