Regional buyers helped ‘immensely’ by Qld grant increase: Broker

After the state government yesterday (20 November) announced that it would double the grant for new home buyers looking to purchase off the plan or build a new home, taking it to $30,000, brokers said regional customers would benefit the most, partly due to the $750,000 property price limit.

Broker at Mortar Finance, Giles McKinlay, stated that buyers who would be looking to access the increased grant would be “from the northern end of the Sunshine Coast and north because it’s difficult to get house and land packages under that $750,000, so regional customers it will help immensely, but in Brisbane, Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast it’ll be a struggle to fit under that price threshold”.

He said: “I think it will really help people in regional areas who want to build … the $15,000 that they offer at the moment just isn’t enough as an incentive, people are just looking for established dwellings, they don’t want to build and this will really help.

“I’ve already had a couple of people actually message on the weekend asking for more information on it.”

Mr McKinlay commented that regional buyers would also likely be seen to take more advantage of the grant due to the struggle to find land in metropolitan areas, particularly across South-East Queensland.

“I think a scheme like this will really help in regional areas, there tends to be more land in regional areas as you go north in Queensland and the price point is a lot lower than in South-East Queensland, so I’d say it’s a real positive for regional customers,” he added.

Ditte Moller, founder and principal mortgage broker at Viking Mortgages, agreed about the lack of land available and added that she was unsure how “it’s going to help when there’s no land available anyway and builders have blown-out time frames”.

She added that the increasing costs of builds would also make the grant’s benefits sparse, with the growing expense, meaning it would be a struggle for buyers to stay under the $750,000 required to be eligible for it.

Instead, Ms Moller said she would like to see the government introduce a grant for first home buyers to help them with their deposit.

At the announcement, the Queensland government estimated that the increased grant would support “approximately 12,000 buyers to unlock their first home by 30 June 2025, when the boost is set to expire”.

Premier of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk, stated: “I know how much cost of living is impacting Queenslanders, especially first home buyers. Our government is committed to easing these pressures by delivering the largest cost-of-living relief package anywhere in the nation.

“I want to see home ownership rates continue to rise, which is why our government is stepping up to lend a helping hand.

“The existing First Home Owner Grant has been very successful, which is why our government is doubling the grant program – meaning eligible first home buyers will receive $30,000 cashback.”

[Related: ‘Is this the return of first home buyers?’]