Realestate.com.au
FIRST-home buyers now account for less than one-third of all new mortgage demand in Brisbane, with soaring property prices pushing borrowing to record levels and making home ownership increasingly difficult.
New data from credit reporting agency Equifax shows first-home buyers have made up just 28.4 per cent of new mortgage demand in 2026, down sharply from 48.6 per cent in 2021.
Over the same period, the average first-home buyer mortgage has climbed from $493,343 to $720,622, an increase of almost 46 per cent in just five years
The figures highlight the growing affordability challenges facing aspiring homeowners despite the Federal Government’s multi-billion-dollar investment in housing affordability and the expansion of its five per cent deposit scheme.
Ray White Holland Park principal Darren Bonehill said first-home buyers remained eager to enter the market but had become noticeably more cautious in recent months.
“At the moment, first-home buyers are kind of being just a little bit more cautious with their decisions, but I haven’t seen a change in the intent,” he said.
“Almost everybody out there who was a first-home buyer prior to the announcement of the budget are still looking – they’re just taking a little more time before making decisions.”
Mr Bonehill said slowing market conditions had given buyers more opportunity to research properties rather than rushing into purchases.
“Recently, I’ve found that they were spending a little more time doing their research, inspecting the property and getting a bit more market research prior to engaging for purchase,” he said.
The data also shows Queensland remains one of Australia’s fastest-growing housing markets, alongside Western Australia and South Australia, where mortgage inquiry amounts have increased by around 55 per cent since 2021.
Nationally, younger Australians are borrowing more than ever before. Buyers aged 18 to 25 recorded the largest increase in average mortgage sizes over the past five years, while borrowers aged 36 to 45 continue to hold the nation’s largest average home loans.
Positive Property chief executive George Markoski said the dream of home ownership was becoming increasingly difficult for younger Australians.
“The numbers tell a hard story,” he said.
“The median age of a first-home buyer in Australia is now 36, it takes almost 12 years to save a 20 per cent deposit compared to nine years a decade ago, and 40 per cent of first-home buyers now need financial help from mum and dad just to get through the door.”
Mr Markoski said affordability was forcing many buyers to rethink where they purchased.
“People are buying where they can afford, holding it, building equity and using that to get to where they actually want to be,” he said.
