Peak Real Estate Body Weighs in on Soaring Rates for Higher Floors

Gold Coast City Council has introduced a ‘view tax’ on apartment-dwellers on higher levels, sparking a reaction from Queensland’s peak real estate body. The new scheme increases rates on an ascending scale after the fifth floor. Rates rises of 40 to 50 percent on higher level floors mean some residents could pay $676 (US$442) more every year. Antonia Mercorella, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ), noted that more than 12,200 high-rise units were subject to new ratings categories without any consultation, education, or phasing in. “Colloquially known as a ‘view tax’ but certainly not commonplace in Queensland, this is an arbitrary way of raising rates masked as creating greater equity,” she said in a statement....