"Out of this decision we should definitely see an upswing in the real estate market and this will be of benefit to all," the association said yesterday.
Finance Minister Audley Shaw said in Parliament on Tuesday that there was a need to stimulate the real estate market.
"The need to jump-start the industry again motivated the Cabinet decision," Shaw told Parliament.
The finance minister said it was the view of Government that the reduction of the tax and duty will act almost as a stimulus to the real estate sector.
"Whatever we would lose, we feel we would more than gain by speeding up the transactions that we would get, not just in the incremental taxation that we would get, but more importantly in stimulating the economy," Shaw said.
Effective August 1, stamp duty will be reduced to three per cent, down one per cent, and transfer tax will be reduced by half a percentage point, to 4.5 per cent.
Effective stimulant
In a release yesterday, the Realtors Association said it was "confident that this will be an effective stimulant which will breathe some life into a sector which has been severely affected by several factors including the fallout from the demise of the alternative investment schemes, as well as the global recession".
Meanwhile, the association said it was encouraged that Government was moving to speed up the time in which parish councils grant building approvals.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding on Tuesday urged local government authorities to speed up the approval for building permits so that activities in the sector could be stimulated.
The Realtors Association has said that the real estate industry has been affected by the delays in the granting of approvals.