I that the company says have gone largely unnoticed since taking effect late last year.

Combined with an interest rate buffer that continues to hold firm and Queensland’s own grants approaching a key deadline, the broker says a proper review of a buyer’s finance position is now more valuable than at any point in recent years.

“A lot of the people we speak to still think they earn too much to qualify for government support, or that the scheme ran out of places months ago,” the company states. “Neither of those things is true anymore, and it’s costing buyers options they don’t know they have.”

The Serviceability Buffer Is Holding at 3 Per Cent

Every home loan application in Australia is tested against a borrower’s ability to repay at their actual interest rate plus a buffer set by the prudential regulator.

That buffer has sat at 3 percentage points since 2021, and despite sustained pressure from industry bodies including the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia to ease it, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has confirmed in its most recent review that the setting will not change.

“The buffer isn’t going anywhere in the near term,” the company said

“With the Reserve Bank having lifted the cash rate twice already this year, borrowers are effectively being assessed at close to 9 per cent, even though nobody is charging them that,”

“That makes how a loan is structured, and which lender you approach, more important than ever.”

The First Home Guarantee Has Been Significantly Expanded

Inovayt says the most consequential change for Brisbane buyers has been to the First Home Guarantee, the federal scheme that allows eligible buyers to purchase with a 5 per cent deposit while avoiding Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

Since the scheme’s expansion, the income caps that previously excluded individuals earning above $125,000 and couples above $200,000 have been removed entirely, and the annual limit on available places has been abolished.

Property price caps were lifted at the same time. Brisbane, along with the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, now sits at approximately $1,000,000, a substantial increase that brings a much larger share of the local market within reach of the scheme.

“This isn’t a minor tweak,” the company states. “We’re now able to have this conversation with clients who previously assumed the scheme wasn’t built for them. For a lot of Brisbane buyers, this changes the maths completely.”

Brisbane’s Market Isn’t Waiting for Buyers to Catch Up

Inovayt says the urgency behind all of this is compounded by what’s happening in the Brisbane property market itself.

Dwelling values in the city have climbed sharply over the past year, pushing the median house price toward $970,000, while rental vacancy rates remain extraordinarily tight at around 1 per cent, with rents rising 5 to 6 per cent annually in many suburbs.

“Buyers who sit on the sidelines waiting for things to settle down are often waiting for a market that isn’t going to slow down for them,”

“That’s exactly why getting your finance position sorted now, and knowing which schemes you actually qualify for, matters more than trying to time the market perfectly.”

The broker says this is particularly relevant for buyers looking at growth corridors such as Moreton Bay, Logan and Ipswich, where house and land packages remain more accessible than established homes closer to the city.

Queensland’s Own Incentives Are Time Limited

Alongside the federal changes, Queensland continues to offer a full stamp duty concession on new or substantially renovated homes where the contract is signed on or after 1 May 2025, with no price cap attached.

The state’s First Home Owner Grant, worth $30,000 for new builds, remains available but is tied to a 30 June 2026 deadline for signed contracts.

“Buyers considering a house and land package need to be planning around that date now, not in a few months,” the company states.

“Construction timelines and finance approval both take longer than people expect, and combining the grant with the stamp duty concession and the federal scheme requires everything to line up.”

Existing Homeowners Shouldn’t Assume None of This Applies to Them

While much of the recent change has focused on first home buyers, Inovayt says existing homeowners have just as much reason to review their finances this year.

With the cash rate having moved twice in 2026, a loan that was competitive twelve to eighteen months ago may no longer be the best available option.

Coordinating Multiple Schemes Is Where Brokers Add the Most Value

Inovayt says the practical challenge for buyers is that none of these schemes are administered together.

Lenders assess income and serviceability under their own policies, the federal deposit scheme has separate eligibility rules, and the state grant and stamp duty concession are applied independently again.

“This is exactly why working with one of the best mortgage brokers in Brisbane has to offer matters in a market like this,” said Inovayt,

“Our job is checking eligibility across every scheme a client might qualify for, confirming which of our lending partners actually offer the loan features they want, and making sure the finance timeline matches the purchase or build contract so nothing gets missed.”he said.