First Home Buyer Guide: Sunshine Coast

Before you fall for a listing in Mooloolaba or Aura, work out what you can genuinely afford. That means your borrowing capacity (how much a lender will lend), your deposit and savings, and the costs on top of the purchase price.

Lenders look at your income, your living expenses, any debts such as car loans, HECS-HELP and credit card limits, and how your repayments would look if rates rose. Paying down or closing unused credit cards before you apply can help.

The federal Home Guarantee Scheme, including the 5% Deposit Scheme, lets eligible first home buyers purchase with as little as a 5% deposit without paying LMI (lenders mortgage insurance, a one-off cost that normally protects the lender when you borrow more than 80%). From 1 October 2025 the scheme was expanded with no income caps, unlimited places and higher property price caps. Price caps still apply by region, so check the current cap for the Sunshine Coast.

Queensland also offers a First Home Owner Grant for eligible buyers of new homes, and first home buyers may get a transfer duty concession that reduces or removes stamp duty, depending on the price and whether the home is new or established. Amounts, thresholds and end dates change, so check the Queensland Revenue Office website or ask us for the current rules.

First home buyers often look at growth corridors such as Caloundra South (Aura) and Palmview, where house-and-land packages and newer townhouses can sit at more accessible price points. Established suburbs like Nambour, Beerwah, Landsborough and parts of Kawana and Caloundra can also suit, depending on budget.

If you are buying a house-and-land package or building, you will usually need a construction loan, which pays the builder in stages. That suits some buyers well but has its own process and paperwork.

Once you know your numbers, we can apply for pre-approval so you can make offers with confidence. When you find a property, the contract usually includes finance and building and pest conditions, giving you time to get formal approval and inspections done.

After formal approval, your conveyancer or solicitor handles settlement. Make sure your deposit is ready, your insurance is in place from the right date and you understand your first repayment date.

Buying your first home involves a lot of unfamiliar steps, and the order matters. We start by understanding your income, savings and goals, then check which schemes and concessions may apply and which lenders suit your situation. With a panel of more than 40 lenders, we can compare policies on things like genuine savings, casual or contract income and gifted deposits from family.

We also help you understand the trade-offs. A 5% deposit can get you into the market sooner, but it means a larger loan and higher repayments. Waiting to save more may reduce your loan but could mean paying rent for longer. There is no single right answer, and we will set out the numbers plainly so you can decide what works for your household.

Once you have pre-approval, we stay involved through to settlement, liaising with the lender, your conveyancer and the agent so nothing falls through the cracks.