Doesn't seem to stop people from buying new cars. ;) Nah, the sale of a used house is a totally private transaction. It's not as though there's a magical base

Doesn't seem to stop people from buying new cars. ;) Nah, the sale of a used house is a totally private transaction. It's not as though there's a magical base price for a house of that size, and then a tax. It'll be sold for whatever the seller can get for it. If it's practically new, it might be the original price including the tax. Heck, it might be higher. The original builder doesn't get to keep as much of the retail price as a subsequent private owner would. That's the distinction between new and used. Nor is it as though buying a fixer-upper avoids the tax entirely. Materials and labor for renovations are taxed. That can be a significant portion of what's put into a home.