While the federal budget placed first-home buyers front and centre in policy changes, those in Tasmania are set to feel the pinch from their own government.
Tinkering to housing policy announced in the 2026 Tasmanian state budget will leave new entrants into the property market scrambling, with any extensions to first-home buyer incentives failing to materialise.
The temporary boost to the state’s $10,000 First Home Owners Grant – which took the handout to $30,000 in 2021 – will not be extended.
The higher level was first introduced more than five years ago and was removed for the 2024-25 financial year, before being reinstated.
From 1 July this year, treasurer Eric Abetz confirmed the grant will instead switch to a $20,000 payment.
“Owning your first home is a major milestone, and the grant will make a real difference for Tasmanians trying to enter the market,” he said.
Hobart, Tasmania. Picture: Getty
While higher than the $10,000 new buyers in the state received before the boost, the move still falls $10,000 short on last year’s offering.
It comes as new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows Tasmania and New South Wales were the only states where the pipeline of new home approvals was up in March.
Following the announcement, the Housing Industry Association said it was crucial the FHOG continued to build confidence in the Tasmanian market.
“The temporary $30,000 grant has helped many Tasmanians bring forward decisions to build, and that support has mattered during a tough period for affordability,” executive director for Tasmania Benjamin Price said.
Building approvals for dwellings in Tasmania have increased. Picture: Getty
“What’s important now is certainty, and setting the grant at $20,000, rather than allowing it to fall back to $10,000.”
Though the state government left stamp duty concessions largely unchanged, an important detail for first-home buyers is also set to decrease buyers' chances to save cash.
While those buying or building a new home can still take advantage of a full exemption, the stamp duty relief on established homes, set to expire at the end of June, will not be extended.
First-home buyers in the southernmost state who choose to get in the market by purchasing an existing property will go back to paying normal stamp duty rates from the new financial year.
It comes after the Tasmania government abolished stamp duty for properties with values under $750,000 in 2024.
Eligible first-home buyers had been able to save up to $28,945 in stamp duty fees on homes bought between February 2024 and June 2026, as long as they lived in their home for six months within 12 months of ownership.
Home prices in Tasmania have continued to increase over the last year, with median prices in Hobart up 10.5% in the 12 months to April.
Hobart is the second most affordable capital in the country, behind Darwin, the PropTrack Home Price Index shows.
The median value of a home in Hobart is $728,000 while the rest of Tasmania has a median price of $572,000.
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