Why Harry is cutting apartment prices

Property Observer

Meriton has been cutting its apartment prices and covering the stamp duty costs for buyers.

Its founder Harry Triguboff has advised he’s been cutting prices by five per cent and covering the additional stamp duty costs for buyers of its apartments over the past year.

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Triguboff says its had cost about 10 per cent of Meriton’s $1.2 billion turnover.

“It may be too early to say,” Mr Triguboff told The Australian Financial Review. “But if you take a turnover of $1.2 billion, then you take 10 per cent, it will cost $120 million.”

Australia’s fifth-largest developer had saved some revenue – about 2 per cent – by selling directly overseas and cutting out the sales agents.

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Meriton has also spent about $300 million – up from the $200 million Mr Triguboff said in May he had lent – to finance predominantly Chinese buyers struggling to complete settlements

Last month, the HIA-Colorbond Steel Housing 100 annual ranking put Meriton in firth spot, down from third place the prior year with a total 2955 housing starts.