First-home buyers once drove nearly half of Brisbane’s mortgage demand – now, exclusive data reveals they account for less than a third, as debt levels soar by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Equifax data found demand for new mortgages from first-home buyers has plummeted to just 28.4 per cent, down from 48.6 per cent in 2021.
First-home buyers now represent less than a third of Brisbane’s mortgage demand, according to new data from Equifax. Picture: iStock
The five-year timeline revealed how expensive property had become since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took office in 2022, when his government committed to housing affordability.
First-home buyer debt has also spiked by hundreds of thousands of dollars, with the average mortgage $493,343 in 2021.
Today, that number surged to $720,622, a 46 per cent jump over five years.
Anthony Albanese’s Labor Government committed $43b to affordable housing after taking office in 2022. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
Ray White Holland Park principal and agent Darren Bonehill said recent interest rate hikes and federal budget tax changes had caused hesitation among first-home buyers.
“At the moment, first-home buyers are kind of being just a little bit more cautious with their decisions,” he said, “but I haven’t seen a change in the intent.”
“Almost everybody out there who was a first-home buyer prior to the announcement of the budget are still looking – they’re just taking a little more time before making decisions.”
Ray White AKG agent Darren Bonehill said recent property market stalls had given first-home buyers pause, allowing them more time to assess a home before buying.
Mr Bonehill said many first-home buyers had been priced out over the past five years due to heavy competition, going up against fast-acting buyers who had secured their finances.
“Because things have become simpler and easier, I’ve found the decision making process has become a lot more rapid,” he said.
“Recently, I’ve found that [FHBs] were spending a little more time doing their research, and being more observers – inspecting the property and getting a bit more market research prior to engaging for purchase.”
“At the moment, first-home buyers are kind of being just a little bit more cautious with their decisions … but I haven’t seen a change in the intent.”
The ongoing struggle for first-home buyers has progressed despite the Labor government’s $43b commitment to housing, including the introduction of an expanded five per cent deposit scheme.
Founder of first home consultant Low Deposit Homes, Chaice Paterson, said scheme was incentivising homeowners to rack up more debt just to enter the property market.
“The barrier isn’t repayments — it’s the cash to get in,” he said.
“Buyers are borrowing 95 per cent, because saving 20 per cent ($200,000 on a $1m home) takes the better part of a decade while prices keep moving.”
Mortgage debt for first-home buyers has jumped from $493,343 in 2021 to $720,622 this year, a 46 per cent increase over five years.
However, Mr Paterson said the five per cent deposit scheme was ultimately helping first-home buyers.
The scheme guarantees the government will pay a portion of a first-home buyer’s home loan and will allow them to purchase for a low deposit without stamp duty or Lenders Mortgage Insurance.
“It allows for a first-home buyer when they’re buying to put more of their deposit into the asset itself, which turns into equity on day one,” Mr Paterson said.
“At the end of the day as property prices continue to increase, so will the debt. And first-home buyers are better off either way owning that asset rather than not being in the market while they continue to pay rent.”
Founder of Low Deposit Homes Chaice Paterson said the five per cent deposit scheme allowed buyers to put their limited money directly towards growing a home’s equity.
Mr Paterson said his company had dealt with 210 first-home buyers since January 2025, and those who bought back then had seen their equity rise by an average of $150,000.
Markets such as Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia had all seen spikes in home mortgage inquiry amounts since 2021, with WA and SA both going up 55 per cent.
“Even without any additional stimulus, the Queensland market has grown at an exponential rate,” Mr Paterson said.
“People’s purchasing power can be a bit greater here … because there’s such limited supply, it’s forced the fundamentals of growth to continue to increase.”
South Australia and Western Australia were the two markets that saw a larger spike in mortgage inquiry amounts since 2021, going up by 55 per cent.
Nationally, buyers between 18 and 25 saw the biggest jump in their mortgage inquiry amounts, moving 35 per cent from an average of $459,527 to $621,873.
Gen Z buyers saw the largest increase in their average mortgages last year, which jumped by 8.54 per cent from $572,921 in 2025.
Meanwhile, buyers between 36 and 45 tend to spend the most on their mortgages, with $663,927 in 2021 and $789,306 in 2026.
Gen Z buyers had the biggest increase on their average mortgage costs over the last year, while Millenials are spending the most on their mortgages today. Picture: iStock
Positive Property CEO George Markoski said fewer buyers were able to pursue the Australian dream of owning a home than ever before.
“The numbers tell a hard story,” he said.
“The median age of a first homebuyer in Australia is now 36, it takes almost 12 years to save a 20% deposit compared to nine years a decade ago, and 40 per cent of first-home buyers now need financial help from mum and dad just to get through the door.
“Developers cannot deliver affordable housing at a loss, and apartments have stopped being the affordable entry point they once were.
“The structural problem here is not going away.”
Positive Property CEO George Markoski said people entering the property market were needing to move out of the areas they wanted to live in to afford a spot.
Mr Markoski said the first-home buyers he had seen have success in the property market were those who looked out of their area for a home – with Equifax data claiming more than 80 per cent of first-home buyers migrated to another part of their state to get property.
“People are buying where they can afford, holding it, building equity, and using that to get to where they actually want to be,” he said. “It is not the path anyone imagined ten years ago, but it is the one that is working.”
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