First-home buyers locked out of $30,000 grant by ‘unrealistic’ Brisbane cap

Experts say finding a new home under $750,000 is Brisbane is unrealistic. First-home buyers are being locked out of a $30,000 government grant despite doing “the right thing,” as property experts warn Brisbane’s threshold no longer reflects reality. It comes despite the property market swinging in favour of buyers with home values down, listings up, and competition slowing. Place Advisory wants Queensland’s First Home Owner Grant threshold lifted from $750,000 to $850,000, saying the current cap no longer reflects the cost of a new home in Brisbane. Aerial view of Brisbane. The call is supported by a Place Advisory survey of more than 1,000 active buyers and investors, which showed first-home buyers remain the most pressured buyers in the market, with cost of living outweighing interest rates as a barrier to get into the market. The $30,000 grant applies only to new homes in Queensland valued at less than $750,000. “The threshold hasn’t kept pace with the cost of land and construction,” said Place Advisory director Bruce Goddard. “For many first-home buyers across Greater Brisbane, finding a new home, townhouse or apartment for $750,000 or below is simply unrealistic. “We’re hearin...