Plain-English articles to help you navigate schemes, grants, and the numbers behind buying your first home in Australia.
News and trends
Property groups are pushing for stamp duty relief on established homes in South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, where first home buyers still pay full duty unless they buy new.
Suburb Guides
Brisbane's median house price is now above $960k, but there are still genuine first home buyer entry points under $700k. Established suburbs, northern corridor picks and new build hot spots, plus how the $30k QLD FHOG, zero stamp duty on new homes and the federal 5% Deposit Scheme stack in South East Queensland in 2026.
News and trends
Westpac, CBA and ANZ have all reported investor home loan applications falling sharply since May's negative gearing changes, which could mean less competition for first home buyers chasing established homes.
News and trends
The Reserve Bank held the cash rate at 4.35% on 11 August, its second consecutive hold after three hikes earlier in 2026. Here's what the pause, and the lenders already cutting rates anyway, mean if you're saving for or about to buy your first home.
Suburb Guides
Sydney has a $1.7M house median but the western and south western outer ring still delivers genuine first home buyer entry points. Established suburbs under $800k, new build corridors under $900k, and how the NSW stamp duty exemption, First Home Owner Grant and the federal 5% Deposit Scheme stack in each.
News and trends
From 1 August 2026, Queensland's home concessions on transfer duty are limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and a small group of specified foreign retirees. Here's what it means if you're a first home buyer on a temporary visa.
News and trends
National property listings climbed 12.4% in July to almost 279,000 dwellings, the strongest annual growth in available housing in over a year, while asking prices ease. Here's what more choice and softer pricing could mean if you're saving for your first home.
Opinion
A balanced look at the April 2026 debate on whether first home buyer schemes are pushing entry-level prices up. The economics, the data, the counterargument, and what it means for buyers weighing the 5% Deposit Scheme in 2026.
News and trends
NAB has revised its housing forecast to a 5% price fall across the capital cities for the rest of 2026, but new data shows entry-level homes are holding their value while the falls are concentrated at the top end of the market.
News and trends
Teachers Mutual Bank Limited began offering the Help to Buy shared equity scheme on 27 July 2026, becoming only the third authorised lender after CBA and Bank Australia, with broker access opening from 6 October 2026.
Mortgages & Loans
Apartments have been growing faster than houses in most Australian capitals in 2026. The real price gap, scheme differences, strata costs and repayment maths for first home buyers weighing units against houses.
News and trends
From 10 August 2026, self-managed super funds can no longer take out new loans to buy residential property. Here's what changed and what it could mean for buyers competing against investors.