First Home Buyers
The real cost of buying a home in Queensland (beyond the deposit)
11 min read · By Daniel Lagden · 16 June 2026
The short version
- Budget for more than the deposit, duty, legals, inspections and lender fees all add up.
- Eligible first home buyers may avoid most or all transfer duty.
- A realistic 'cash to complete' figure prevents nasty surprises near settlement.
- Keep a buffer after settlement, not just enough to get to the line.
The deposit is the number everyone plans for and it is not the number that catches people out. The costs on top are payable in cash at settlement, cannot be added to your loan, and on a typical Queensland purchase they run from a few thousand dollars to well over thirty thousand depending on one variable: whether you qualify for a transfer duty concession.
Quick summary: budget for transfer duty, conveyancing, inspections, lender fees, searches and moving. Transfer duty dominates the list and swings enormously with your eligibility, so work that out first. A first home buyer on an eligible new home in Queensland can pay no duty at all, which changes the entire budget.
What are all the costs, and how much are they?
| Cost | Typical range | When it is due |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer duty | Nil to $26,775 on a $750,000 purchase | At settlement |
| Conveyancing or solicitor | $1,000 to $2,500 | At settlement |
| Building and pest inspection | $500 to $800 | Before finance is unconditional |
| Lender fees | Nil to around $800 | At settlement |
| Searches and registration | Around $400 | At settlement |
| Council and water rates adjustment | Varies with timing | At settlement |
| Home and contents insurance | From a few hundred | Before settlement, lenders require it |
| Moving and connections | $500 upwards | After settlement |
Two of those are frequently forgotten entirely. The rates adjustment reimburses the seller for council and water charges they have already paid beyond settlement day, and it can be several hundred dollars depending on where in the billing cycle you settle. And most lenders require building insurance in place before settlement, not after, which surprises buyers who planned to organise it once they had the keys.
Why is transfer duty the number that matters most?
Because it is both the largest single item and the most variable. On a $750,000 purchase with no concession, standard Queensland duty is $26,775. For an eligible first home buyer purchasing a new or substantially renovated home, it is nil, with no value cap on the home and its residential land. That is a swing of more than twenty six thousand dollars in cash required, on the same purchase price.
| Buyer | Property | Transfer duty |
|---|---|---|
| First home buyer | Eligible new home | Nil |
| First home buyer | Established, up to $700,000 | Nil |
| First home buyer | Established at $750,000 | Reduced, tapering |
| Upgrader living in it | Any | Home concession rate |
| Investor | Any | Full standard schedule |
So the first question in any Queensland buying budget is not how much deposit you have. It is which row of that table you are in. Our Queensland stamp duty guide works through the full schedule and the eligibility conditions.
What does this look like as a total?
Take a $750,000 purchase with a 10 per cent deposit. The deposit is $75,000. If you are an investor paying full duty, add roughly $26,775 in duty plus $2,000 to $4,000 of other costs, so the cash requirement lands near $104,000. If you are a first home buyer on an eligible new home, the duty line is nil and the same purchase needs closer to $78,000.
That is a $26,000 difference in what you need saved, driven entirely by eligibility and property type rather than by price. It is why two buyers looking at the same listing can be in completely different positions, and why a generic rule of thumb about budgeting five per cent for costs is close to useless in Queensland.
What about the ongoing costs?
The purchase costs get the attention, but the running costs are what determine whether the purchase is comfortable. Budget for council rates, water, building insurance, and body corporate levies if you are buying a unit or townhouse. Body corporate is the one that most often changes the maths on an apartment, and the levies plus the sinking fund position are worth reading properly before you commit rather than after.
Maintenance is the line people leave out entirely. A house needs money spent on it, and treating that as an emergency each time it happens is how a manageable mortgage becomes a stressful one.
Where can you legitimately reduce the cash needed?
- Establish your duty position first, because on an eligible new home it can be the largest saving available anywhere in the transaction.
- Check the First Home Owner Grant separately, since it is a different program with its own $750,000 cap on the new home.
- Use equity in another property rather than cash, where you already own.
- Ask about lender fee waivers, which are commonly available on competitive offers and rarely volunteered.
- Do not skip the building and pest inspection to save $600. It is the cheapest insurance in the entire process.
What does the timeline of payments look like?
The costs do not all arrive at settlement, and knowing the order matters if your funds are tight. Several items are payable well before settlement day, which catches buyers who have planned a single lump sum.
| When | What | Typical amount |
|---|---|---|
| On signing | Initial or holding deposit | Often $1,000 to 10% of price |
| During the finance and inspection period | Building and pest, and any strata report | $500 to $1,300 |
| Before finance is unconditional | Lender valuation, if charged | Nil to a few hundred |
| Before settlement | Building insurance in place | From a few hundred |
| At settlement | Balance of deposit, transfer duty, legal, searches, registration | The bulk of it |
| After settlement | Moving, connections, immediate repairs | $500 upwards |
The initial deposit is worth understanding properly. It is typically held in the agent's trust account and forms part of your total deposit rather than being an extra cost, but it is money you must have available at contract signing, which is earlier than many buyers expect.
What extra costs apply to a unit or townhouse?
Body corporate levies are the obvious one, and they are an ongoing cost rather than a purchase cost, but there are purchase stage items too. A strata or body corporate search is worth paying for, and reading, because it reveals the levy history, any special levies coming, the state of the sinking fund and any disputes or defects the body corporate is dealing with.
A poorly funded sinking fund is a future special levy with your name on it. A building with known defects can also affect your finance, because some lenders restrict lending where significant remediation is outstanding. On a unit purchase, that search is not optional diligence.
What if you are buying and selling at the same time?
Doing both in sequence introduces costs that a single purchase does not have. Selling brings agent commission, marketing costs and your own conveyancing on the sale side. If the timing does not line up, you either need bridging finance to cover the overlap or somewhere to live in the gap, and both cost money.
The decision worth making early is which way round to do it. Buying first gives you certainty about where you are going and exposes you to holding two properties. Selling first gives you certainty about your funds and exposes you to a rising market and temporary accommodation. There is no universally right answer, but there is a right answer for your circumstances, and it changes what you should be budgeting for.
How much buffer should you keep?
Spending your last dollar at settlement is the most common avoidable mistake in buying a home. Something always needs doing in the first few months, whether that is a hot water system, a fence, a locksmith or simply furniture for rooms you did not previously have.
A sensible buffer is a few months of repayments plus a genuine allowance for immediate repairs, held separately from your deposit. Lenders like to see it, and more importantly it is what stops a manageable mortgage becoming a stressful one in the first year. If including a buffer means buying slightly less house, that is usually the better trade.
General information only, current as at August 2026. Duty rates, concession eligibility, fees and charges vary and change, and the figures here are indicative rather than quotes. Confirm your position with the Queensland Revenue Office, your solicitor and us before relying on it. This is not legal, tax or credit advice.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I need on top of the deposit in Queensland?
It depends almost entirely on transfer duty. With no concession on a $750,000 purchase, expect roughly $29,000 to $31,000 including duty and other costs. For an eligible first home buyer on a new home, it can be under $4,000.
Can I add these costs to my home loan?
Generally no. Transfer duty, conveyancing, inspections and searches are payable in cash at settlement. Some buyers release equity from another property to cover them, which needs arranging in advance.
What is the rates adjustment at settlement?
It reimburses the seller for council and water charges they have already paid covering the period after settlement. It can be several hundred dollars depending on where in the billing cycle you settle.
Do I need insurance before settlement?
Most lenders require building insurance to be in place before settlement rather than after, so it is worth organising early rather than assuming it can wait until you move in.
Is a building and pest inspection worth it?
Yes. At $500 to $800 it is the cheapest risk reduction in the whole transaction, and it is the one cost we would never suggest skipping.
What ongoing costs should I budget for?
Council rates, water, building insurance, body corporate levies on a unit or townhouse, and a genuine maintenance allowance. The body corporate position is worth reading in full before you commit.
