Jessi Burdon has purchased land to build her first home at Nuriootpa. Picture: Emma Brasier.
First-home buyer demand has fallen almost 20 per cent across SA over the past five years, despite expanded support schemes to help them get a foot on the property ladder.
Equifax analysis found new mortgage demand among first-home buyers fell 19.86 per cent between May 2021 and May 2026.
The proportion of first-home buyer demand also dropped from 42.8 per cent in October 2021 to 31.6 per cent in May 2026.
It comes despite expansions to federal and state support measures, including low-deposit schemes and stamp duty concessions designed to help buyers get into the market sooner.
Equifax’s mortgage inquiry data also shows first-home buyers were seeking larger loans now compared to five years ago.
The average first-home buyer mortgage inquiry amount jumped from $422,125 in May 2021 to $655,913 in May 2026 – a 55 per cent, or $233,788, increase.
On par with WA, it was the nation’s largest growth in loan inquiry amounts recorded over the five-year period.
First-home buyer demand has dwindled across SA over the past five years, new data reveals. Picture: Getty.
Equifax chief solutions officer Kevin James said demand for first-home buyer loans had dropped significantly since 2021 due to years of price growth outpacing wages.
“The amount first-home buyers have to pay has often increased by over 35 per cent, but their incomes have not grown by anything close to that,” he said.
He said these challenges have been exacerbated in recent months by a shift in the lending environment.
This included Australian Prudential Regulation Authority guardrails introduced in February that make it harder for banks to issue loans to buyers that are more than six times their annual income.
“In the past, people had to borrow well above six times their income to get into the market, so the change really restricts what a lot of first-home buyers can purchase,” Mr James said.
First-home buyer activity was likely to continue falling despite high amounts of government support because of the tighter lending climate coupled with a falling market, he said.
Government incentives have had mixed results in helping first-home buyers get a leg on the property ladder sooner, Mr James added.
A key problem with policies like the Albanese government’s flagship 5 per cent deposit scheme was that they helped homebuyers with the upfront costs of buying but did little to address housing affordability.
“The 5 per cent deposit scheme has also increased the amount of debt among first-home buyers,” he said.
While the challenges of getting into the market used to be mostly in Sydney and Melbourne, Mr James said it had become a lot harder for first-home buyers in SA, Queensland and WA in more recent years.
Loan Market mortgage broker Nathan Brand said in an environment where interest rates and the cost of living were higher, combined with the fact that incomes hadn’t increased much, it had become significantly harder for first-home buyers to get a foot in the door.
“Borrowing power is probably the number one issue, I’d say,” he said.
“It’s really tough, I’m having those conversations every single day with first-home buyers.
“It has been tough for everyone … but a lot tougher for first-home buyers, that’s the hardest spot to be in.”
Mr Brand said it had become “borderline impossible” for single people trying to get into the housing market on one wage.
“It’s really disheartening when they come in,” he said.
Jessi Burdon purchased land at Nuriootpa late last year, with the help of Mr Brand, to build her first home.
She initially started her search in the established market but the competition was intense and the properties she was looking at were selling for much higher prices than expected.
When she saw the land at Nuriootpa hit the market and at the right price, she was quick to make a move.
While she was yet to start building, Ms Burdon said the process so far had been reasonably good.
She encouraged others looking for their first home to reach out to a mortgage broker.
“Absolutely go and speak to a broker even if you don’t know if you’re in the position (to buy),” she said.
“He was able to tell me which schemes I was eligible for and which ones weren’t helpful.
“It was probably the best thing I did.”
– with Aidan Devine and Nathan Mawby
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