Earlier this week, first home buyers in Queensland were dealt some good news to close out the year.
As part of a new cost-of-living measure, the QLD government doubled the state’s First Home Owner Grant from $15,000 to $30,000.
Valid from now until mid 2025, the $30,000 grant is accessible to those buying or building a new home valued at less than $750,000 and applies to houses, units, duplexes and townhouses, granny flats, and modular homes. And with QLD’s median house price sitting at around $650,000, there’s plenty of eligible property on the market. The grant can be used toward a new home, an off-the-plan purchase, a sizeable renovation, a contract to build, or an owner-builder transaction.
QLD’s government expects the increase will help around 12,000 buyers get onto the property ladder by June 30, 2025. Currently, the only other state offering a $30K FHOG is Tasmania, where the median house price is around $545K. In South Australia, eligible first home owner grant applicants receive $15K, whereas buyers in all other states (bar ACT) receive $10,000.
Just like this year’s state of origin, it seems the maroons have come out on top. While first home buyers in NSW could definitely use the help, it’s unlikely Premier Chris Minns will match Palaszczuk’s raise after already implementing changes to the policy earlier this year.
Back in June, the NSW government announced amendments to The First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme in a bid to help those wanting to enter the property market for the first time to get on the ladder. In effect since July 1, first home buyers have had access to increased stamp duty exemptions and concessions.
The threshold for stamp duty exemptions for first home buyers has been raised from $650,000 to $800,000, and stamp duty concessions from $800,000 to $1 million. With stamp duty on a $800,000 property in NSW setting owners back around $30,000 in stamp duty fees, it’s a sizeable saving. Maybe the maroons haven’t taken the win after all.
But with Sydney’s current median house price continuing to climb upwards of $1.35M and units at $830K, many first home buyers are priced out of the market. In October, Sydney home values increased another 0.8%, bringing the cumulative recovery since the January 2023 trough up to 11.6%.
And there’s more growth to come. With the property downturn officially behind us, prices are just $2,000 shy of a new national house record. By the end of the year, Domain analysts predict Sydney and Brisbane will hit record medians before fireworks fill the sky on NYE.
And then will things cool down? Perhaps we’ll feel a slight breeze. In 2024, experts suggest we might see a modest drop in Sydney property prices somewhere between 1%-4%, driven by interest rates, increasing unaffordability (cc Cozzie Livs) and forced house sales. This fall likely won’t be citywide, though, with affluent areas in the Eastern Suburbs and North Shore as well as inner city suburbs to stay high due to overseas investment and high demand.
