In Queensland in 2026, the deposit you need depends on the path you take. Boost to Buy asks for as little as 2%. The First Home Guarantee needs 5% with no lenders mortgage insurance. Standard lending sits at 5% to 10% if you're willing to pay LMI, or 20% if you want to avoid it. On a $650,000 home, that spread runs from $13,000 at the low end to $130,000 at the top. The right number depends on your income, your savings timeline, and how much LMI or scheme conditions you're comfortable with.
What deposit do the schemes require?
Three main paths sit below the standard 20%.
The First Home Guarantee lets eligible buyers purchase with a 5% deposit and no LMI. Since October 2025 it has no income caps, so it's open to a much wider group of first home buyers than before. Property price caps apply: $1,000,000 in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast, and $700,000 across the rest of Queensland. Places are allocated through participating lenders, so speak to a broker early in the year when spots are fresher.
Boost to Buy is the newer option and goes lower still. It asks for just a 2% deposit, with the government taking an equity share in your home of up to 30% for a new build or 25% for an existing one. The property cap is $1,000,000. Income caps apply: $155,000 for singles and $232,000 for couples or joint applicants. Round 2 of the scheme is open now through Queensland Treasury. Because the government holds equity, you pay part of any future gain back when you sell or refinance, so it suits buyers who want in sooner rather than buyers chasing the cheapest total cost.
Outside the schemes, most lenders will accept a 5% to 10% deposit, but LMI applies. LMI is a one-off premium that protects the lender, not you, and it can add tens of thousands of dollars to your loan depending on the purchase price and deposit size. A 20% deposit avoids LMI altogether and gives you the most lender choice and the best rates, but it takes the longest to save.
For a full walkthrough of Boost to Buy, see our dedicated guide at /guides/boost-to-buy-qld. If a bigger deposit isn't realistic yet, our guide on /guides/no-deposit-home-loans covers guarantor and low-deposit alternatives.
What counts as genuine savings?
Most lenders want to see genuine savings, usually 5% of the purchase price, held in your own account for at least three months. This shows the lender you can save consistently and manage repayments once the loan starts.
Genuine savings can include regular savings account deposits, term deposits held for the qualifying period, and shares or managed funds you've held for at least three months. It generally does not include a lump sum that appeared last week, even if it's a gift.
Some lenders will accept a strong rental history instead of genuine savings, on the basis that paying rent on time for a year or more proves the same thing: you can meet a regular housing payment. This varies by lender, so it's worth checking early rather than assuming you're locked out because your savings history is short.
What costs come on top of the deposit?
The deposit is rarely the only cash you need at settlement.
For an established home, transfer duty (commonly called stamp duty) may apply if you're above the first home buyer thresholds. Queensland currently charges no duty up to $700,000 for eligible first home buyers, phasing out by $800,000. Above that, duty applies on a sliding scale. You'll also need to budget for conveyancing or legal fees, typically $1,500 to $2,000, a building and pest inspection around $600, and lender fees such as valuation or settlement charges. Check current thresholds and calculators directly with qro.qld.gov.au, the Queensland Revenue Office.
For a new build, the picture is better. Eligible first home buyers pay zero transfer duty on new homes, a change that took effect from May 2025. That alone can save tens of thousands of dollars compared with buying established. You'll still need to cover legal fees, building and pest checks where relevant, and lender fees, but the biggest single cost is removed.
Our page on /stamp-duty breaks down exactly what you'll pay based on price and buyer type, and /pre-approval explains how lenders assess these extra costs alongside your deposit when working out what you can borrow.
How does the FHOG boost my deposit?
The First Home Owner Grant adds $30,000 toward a new home priced up to $750,000, provided you sign your contract by 30 June 2026. This is separate from the deposit schemes above and can be used alongside the First Home Guarantee or Boost to Buy in many cases.
The grant is paid at settlement, not before, so it doesn't help you reach your genuine savings target earlier. What it does is reduce the amount you need to fund at settlement once your loan is approved, which effectively stretches your deposit further on a new home. Full detail on eligibility and how it stacks with other support sits on our /grants page, and housingaustralia.gov.au has the official scheme rules for the federal guarantees.
How much should I actually save?
There's no single right answer here. It comes down to how fast you want to buy, how much LMI or scheme cost you're prepared to wear, and what property you're targeting.
The table below shows what a $650,000 purchase looks like across the main paths.
| Deposit path | Deposit % | Cash needed | LMI status | |---|---|---|---| | Boost to Buy | 2% | $13,000 | No LMI (government equity share instead) | | First Home Guarantee | 5% | $32,500 | No LMI | | Standard lending with LMI | 10% | $65,000 | LMI applies | | Standard lending, no LMI | 20% | $130,000 | No LMI |
Add your extra settlement costs on top of whichever column applies to you. If you're buying new, add roughly $2,100 to $2,600 for legal fees and a building and pest check, with no duty to worry about. If you're buying established above the duty-free threshold, add transfer duty as well.
A quick way to think about it: if you can genuinely save 5% and want to move sooner rather than later, the First Home Guarantee is usually the cleanest option, since there's no LMI and no equity share to unwind later. If 5% is still out of reach, Boost to Buy gets you in the door faster at the cost of sharing some future growth with the government. If you already have 20% or close to it, standard lending gives you the widest range of lenders and products.
Every household is different, and eligibility rules shift year to year, so it pays to check your numbers against the current caps before you commit to a plan.
Our team at /services/first-home-buyers works through this exact comparison for Queensland buyers every week, matching deposit size, income, and property price against the scheme that fits.
Not sure which deposit path fits? Book a call with Tom Smith at Kookaburra Finance, Springfield Central. We're FBAA members, accredited with 60+ lenders, and there's no cost to you. Get in touch via /contact.