First Home Owner Grant Brisbane Southside, QLD, The 2026 Guide
If you're buying your first home in Brisbane Southside and building or buying a brand-new property, the Queensland First Home Owner Grant puts $30,000 toward your purchase. That's a meaningful contribution toward your deposit or your upfront costs, and it's available without an income test.
The grant is for new homes only. If you're buying an established property, it won't apply, but other first-home concessions, including transfer duty savings up to $24,525 on homes under $700,000, may still be available to you. Whether you're building on vacant land, buying a house-and-land package, or purchasing a newly completed home, understanding what you qualify for is the first conversation to have.
Our team helps first home buyers across Brisbane Southside, QLD compare their options and structure their application across 50+ lenders. The first home loan side of it is where most of the difference is made, because the grant is only part of the picture.
Key takeaways
- Queensland's First Home Owner Grant is $30,000 for eligible new homes.
- New homes under $750,000 qualify; established homes do not.
- Brisbane Southside buyers can stack the grant with federal schemes from a 5% deposit.
Is the First Home Owner Grant still $30,000 in Brisbane Southside, QLD?
Yes. The Queensland First Home Owner Grant is $30,000 for contracts signed from 1 July 2026, confirmed to continue in the 2026-27 State Budget with no published end date. It applies to new homes only, priced under $750,000, and there's no income test attached. If you're building or buying new in Brisbane Southside, the $30,000 is available to you, provided you meet the eligibility conditions.
What does the First Home Owner Grant actually cover, and what doesn't it touch?
The grant is paid on new residential properties, including house-and-land packages, newly constructed homes purchased from a developer, and owner-builder projects where the foundations are laid as the relevant date. It does not apply to established homes, regardless of how recently they were renovated or how new they feel.
The $750,000 price cap includes the land and any contract variations. If your contract sits above that threshold, the grant is not available, even if the property is brand new. That's an important distinction in Brisbane Southside, where most house medians are well above $750,000. Units and townhouses are a different story, and most unit medians in the area sit comfortably under the cap.
From 1 August 2026, first-home duty concessions are limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents, and specified foreign retirees. The grant itself carries its own residency conditions, and you'll need to be intending to live in the property as your principal place of residence.
"We regularly see first home buyers assume the grant applies to any purchase under a certain price. The new-homes-only rule catches a lot of people who have their heart set on an established property in the area. It changes the conversation from 'what do I qualify for' to 'what type of property should I be looking at', and that's actually the more useful question."
Gundeep Virk · Director, Evergreen Loan Solutions · Chat to Gundeep →
What eligibility criteria apply to first home buyers in Brisbane Southside?
The Queensland First Home Owner Grant has several conditions you'll need to satisfy before the $30,000 is paid. Lenders and the Queensland Revenue Office both verify these at application.
Who needs to check these conditions:
- › First home: you and any co-applicant must never have owned residential property in Australia, either as an owner or co-owner.
- › Residency: you must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident (or a specified foreign retiree) from 1 August 2026.
- › New home only: the property must be a new build, a newly constructed purchase, or a substantially renovated home meeting the QRO definition.
- › Price cap: the purchase price, including land and variations, must be under $750,000.
- › Principal place of residence: you must move in and occupy the home as your principal residence, typically within one year of settlement or construction completion.
- › Owner-builder: if you're building yourself rather than engaging a builder, the foundations-laid date applies, not a contract date.
Source: Queensland Revenue Office.
What government schemes can first home buyers in Brisbane Southside stack with the grant?
The First Home Owner Grant is a state scheme, and it can be used alongside the federal schemes below. Eligibility runs on your deposit, your income, and whether the property is new or established. The $30,000 grant specifically unlocks on new homes, which aligns well with the federal schemes that don't require the property to be new.
The schemes worth knowing about:
- › First Home Guarantee (5% deposit, no LMI): buy with a 5% deposit, no income test from October 2025, and no LMI. Brisbane Southside's cap is $1,000,000, which covers the full unit market and new townhouses in the area.
- › Family Home Guarantee (single parents, 2% deposit): single parents or guardians can buy with a 2% deposit without needing to be a first home buyer. The $1,000,000 cap applies across Brisbane Southside.
- › Help to Buy (federal shared equity): the government co-owns up to 40% of a new home. Income caps are $103,000 for singles and $165,000 for joint applicants or single parents. Australian citizens only, PRs do not qualify.
- › Transfer duty concession (established homes): full exemption for established homes under $700,000, a partial concession to $800,000. Maximum saving is $24,525. From 1 August 2026, available to citizens and PRs only.
- › Boost to Buy (Queensland shared equity): not currently available to Brisbane Southside buyers. The South East Queensland allocation is exhausted. Regional QLD places remain open.
Source: Queensland Revenue Office and Housing Australia.
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How much can first home buyers borrow in Brisbane Southside, QLD?
CoreLogic data shows that unit and townhouse medians across the Brisbane Southside suburbs that sit under the $1,000,000 scheme cap range from around $722,500 in Macgregor to $890,000 in Sunnybank. That's the realistic purchase range if you're using the First Home Guarantee and the $30,000 grant together on a new build, and it's where most of the new townhouse stock sits.
House medians are a different picture. Only Rocklea, at $830,000, sits below the $1,000,000 First Home Guarantee cap. Every other approved suburb in the area has a house median above it, so a freestanding house purchase using the grant and a 5% deposit is limited to the lower end of the price range or to Rocklea specifically. Rocklea does have a flood history in some pockets, so talk to us before you commit.
On the borrowing side, lenders assess your capacity at an assessment rate roughly 3% above the actual rate, per APRA requirements. The $30,000 grant reduces your loan size directly when it's applied at settlement, which moves your borrowing picture meaningfully at the new-home price points where the grant actually applies.
Source: CoreLogic (via YIP, mid-2026) and APRA.
When does the First Home Owner Grant not make sense?
The grant is tied to new construction, and new homes carry a price premium over established stock at the same address. In Brisbane Southside, a new townhouse in Moorooka- Annerley or Coopers Plains will often cost more than a comparable established unit. If that premium exceeds $30,000, the grant is not saving you money, it's partially offsetting the cost of going new. Running the numbers on both scenarios before you commit to new construction is worth doing.
The grant also doesn't work if your new home exceeds $750,000 in total contract value. On a house-and-land package where the land is separately contracted, watch whether the combined value tips you over the cap. Some packages are structured so the land and construction contracts are separate, which changes how the cap is calculated. Getting that confirmed before you sign is the kind of detail that saves significant money.
If an established home at, say, $680,000 would give you a full transfer duty exemption and a better location, the duty saving of up to $24,525 is real money too, even without the grant. The right answer depends entirely on which property you're actually buying and how the numbers sit for your deposit and borrowing capacity.
How do mortgage brokers help first home buyers use the grant in Brisbane Southside, QLD?
The grant, the duty concession, the federal scheme, and the lender's deposit requirements all land in the same conversation, and they interact in ways that change the right answer depending on your situation. Three things a broker works through that don't appear on the Queensland Revenue Office website:
- › Which lenders accept the grant as genuine savings: most lenders accept the FHOG as part of your genuine savings position, but the rules differ, and some require a minimum amount of demonstrable savings alongside it.
- › How the grant is timed against settlement: the grant is paid at settlement for a new purchase or at the first progress payment draw-down for construction. A broker co-ordinates this with the lender so the timing doesn't create a gap in your funds.
- › Whether the First Home Guarantee or Help to Buy is the right pairing: the two federal pathways have different conditions, and the one that looks more generous on paper isn't always the one that works with your specific contract, lender and income structure.
Comparing those options across our panel is where the real difference is made for most Brisbane Southside first home buyers.
"Where I'd start in the reader's position: confirm the contract structure with the builder before signing, because how the contract is set up determines whether the grant pays out at the right time. A progress-payment construction loan and a fixed-price build contract are very different things, and getting the lender involved early means there are no surprises at the first draw-down."
Gundeep Virk · Director, Evergreen Loan Solutions · Chat to Gundeep →
What approval challenges do first home buyers face when using the grant?
The hurdles worth knowing before you apply:
- › Genuine savings requirements: some lenders require a minimum period of saved funds alongside the grant. If your deposit is almost entirely the FHOG plus a gifted amount, your lender options narrow.
- › New-build valuation risk: a lender values a new home at completion, not at the contract price. If the market shifts during construction, the valuation can come in below contract and the buyer covers the shortfall in cash.
- › HECS debt reducing capacity: lenders count your compulsory HECS repayment as an ongoing commitment, not just the balance. On a typical graduate income, this reduces what you can borrow, and it's worth knowing how much before you set your price limit.
- › Pre-approval lapsing during construction: formal approval can't be locked for the full build period. If rates or policy change between pre-approval and practical completion, you'll need re-assessment. The earlier you get a broker involved, the better you can plan for this.
- › Residency condition timing: from 1 August 2026, citizenship or permanent residency is required for the duty concession. If your visa status is changing, the timing of your contract date matters significantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Queensland First Home Owner Grant $30,000 or $15,000 in 2026?
It's $30,000 for contracts signed from 1 July 2026, confirmed in the 2026-27 Queensland Budget with no published end date. The $15,000 base grant applies outside any boost period, but no reversion date has been announced.
Can I use the First Home Owner Grant with the federal First Home Guarantee?
Yes. The $30,000 state grant and the First Home Guarantee (5% deposit, no LMI) can be used together on an eligible new home in Brisbane Southside, QLD, subject to the $750,000 price cap on the grant and the $1,000,000 cap on the scheme.
Does the First Home Owner Grant apply to units and apartments in Brisbane Southside?
Yes, provided the unit is brand new, the contract price is under $750,000, and you meet the other eligibility conditions. Most unit medians in the area sit under the cap, making new units the most realistic grant-eligible purchase type here.
What transfer duty do first home buyers pay on an established home under $700,000?
Zero, under the First Home Concession for eligible buyers. The full exemption applies up to $700,000, with a partial concession tapering to $800,000. From 1 August 2026, this applies to Australian citizens and permanent residents only.
Is Boost to Buy available to Brisbane Southside buyers in 2026?
Not currently. The South East Queensland allocation for Boost to Buy is exhausted. Only regional Queensland places remain open. Check Queensland Treasury for any future round announcements.
Is it better to use a mortgage broker or go directly to a lender for my first home?
A mortgage broker, every time. A broker compares how different lenders treat the grant timing, genuine savings requirements and your specific deposit structure, which a single lender won't do for you.
Your Next Steps
Getting your first home purchase right in Brisbane Southside means understanding how the $30,000 grant, the transfer duty position, and your federal scheme eligibility sit together, and then finding the lender whose policy actually works for your contract type and deposit. Those are three separate conversations that need to happen in the right order before you sign anything.
Ready to find out which lenders will work best for your first home purchase? Contact the Evergreen Loan Solutions team or call 0421 152 859. We'll canvas our 50+ lender panel and find the most suitable options for your circumstances.
Related article: Low Deposit Home Loans in Brisbane Southside.
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External Resources
Evergreen Loan Solutions, Eight Mile Plains and Brisbane Southside. This is general information only, this article does not constitute financial advice. Please consider your own circumstances and seek professional advice before making any financial decisions.
