Unit owners the hardest hit by 2017 ACT budget's rate increases

House owners will see their rates rise by an average of 7 per cent.

The rate hikes are part of the ACT government's move to abolish stamp duty, while unit owners were hit with a larger increase to bridge the gap between apartment and house rates.

Apartment owner and public servant Zachary Pink, 28, said the rate increase wouldn't have a huge impact on him at this stage of his life.

"They do raise these rates for a reason," Mr Pink said.

"If I know that it's going to infrastructure like light rail or hospitals, it's not so much of a bad thing if it's being directed to the right things."

Mr Pink's one-bedroom apartment in Kingston is his second home and he paid stamp duty when he purchased the property.

He said it was a fair trade off to charge more for rates in place of stamp duty.

"Every little bit adds up when you're buying a home," Mr Pink said.

However, Mr Pink said the extra hike on unit owners was a disincentive to buyers.

"There's a shortage of actual houses and house prices are going up," Mr Pink said.

"People are not going to be motivated to buy something cheaper in the form of a unit if rates are the same as a house."

In addition to stamp duty cuts, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the government would address affordability through increased supply.

The overall residential land release target is 16,250 dwelling sites over the next four years however, this projection could change in subsequent budgets.

A total of 4120 new residential dwelling sites are scheduled for release in 2017-18, with 1405 dwellings to be built in greenfield estates across Gungahlin, Molonglo and Belconnen.

There are 75 dwellings set to be released in the Gungahlin Town Centre, 90 in Moncrieff, 400 in Taylor and 30 in Throsby.

More than 550 dwellings will be released in Molonglo, including 190 homes in Coombs and 365 homes in Wright.

Another 300 dwellings are set to be released in the new Belconnen suburb of Straithnairn.

Almost 1500 higher-density dwellings will be released across the central suburbs of Braddon, Red Hill, Reid and Turner as part of the government's public housing renewal push.

The second stage of Lawson will deliver 700 additional dwellings to Belconnen, while there are 480 dwellings slated for Greenway.