Home Loans Brisbane

Think about what kind of property you would like to purchase, what your budget might be, and what part of Brisbane you would like to buy in. For example, with the price of free-standing homes currently appreciating rapidly, you might find that for the purposes of your first home, a townhouse or apartment will suffice. Furthermore, depending on your needs and lifestyle, you may determine that living on the South or North sides of Brisbane are an absolute must for you. Another factor that might impact your decision making here is the first home buyers’ grant, which typically leads to buyers looking at Brisbane’s outer suburbs where new builds are more common.

You should also consider applying for pre approval from your preferred lender once you have established your budget. By obtaining pre approval, you can speed up the settlement process for any property you are interested in buying and streamline your acquisition.

With your budget and need parameters established, your search for the right home will become vastly more manageable. Online platforms can offer a useful means to examine Brisbane’s property market, but most people consider it necessary to inspect multiple prospective properties for purchase in person.

Brisbane is a fastly gentrifying city where in inner-city suburbs free-standing homes commonly sell for over $1 million. If living in or near the inner city is important to you for work or lifestyle reasons, then an apartment or townhouse will likely be your best option for a first home.

On Brisbane’s outskirts, in areas such as North Lakes and Forest Lakes, homes can be found at much more affordable prices.

The cost of stamp duty in Queensland varies depending on the price of the property being purchased, whether or not the buyer is a first time home buyer, and also what the intended use of the property is. For example, if a first time home buyer purchases a property under the price of $550,000 then no stamp duty will apply. However, if a home is purchased as an investment property, then stamp duty applies at rates increasing as the price of the property passes certain thresholds, much like marginal income tax rates. 

In late 2020, the median house price in Brisbane was $577,644 after an increase of 4.4% over the year. The median price for an apartment during the same period was $377,349.

Assuming that a 10% deposit and loan principal equivalent to the median house price, a 1.89% interest rate, and a repayment period of 25 years (as is usual), then weekly repayments including interest and fees will be approximately $544.

For an apartment under the same conditions, weekly repayments will be $355.