The Home Ownership and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026, passed by the Queensland Parliament this month, makes two targeted changes to first home buyer concessions, and InfoTrack’s data for quarter three shows that vacant land, the segment most directly affected by one of them, represents nearly twice the share of purchases in Queensland that it does in New South Wales. For practitioners acting for first home buyers, the amendments are small in drafting terms but sit close to transactions that are common in this state.

What has changed for Queensland first home buyers?

Under the amendments passed by Parliament, a Queensland first home buyer will remain eligible for the vacant land concession when an existing shed sits on otherwise vacant land, and a buyer of a newly constructed home will not be disqualified because of the way the property passed between a developer and a builder. Both changes were described by the Queensland Government as removing technicalities that could deprive a buyer acting in good faith of a concession.

The Bill also removes obsolete references and processes in revenue legislation and aligns the treatment of current and former Defence Force personnel for vehicle registration duty relief, although that change does not affect property transactions.

Why vacant land matters more in Queensland

Vacant land is a more prominent part of the Queensland market than practitioners who work across states may expect. In Q3 2026, vacant land made up 15.59 per cent of Queensland purchases, down from a high of 17.6 per cent in the previous quarter but still above the 14.9 per cent recorded in Q1. In New South Wales, vacant land accounted for 7.58 per cent of purchases over the same period.

Houses remained the largest category at 59.66 per cent of purchases, followed by units at 24.75 per cent. For a practitioner acting for a first home buyer who intends to build, a concession that depends on land being treated as vacant is relevant to a meaningful share of Queensland matters, and an existing structure on the block is the kind of detail that is worth confirming early in the matter.

Where new homes are being delivered

The house market in the September quarter was spread widely across growth corridors and regional centres, and the developer and builder change is relevant wherever new homes are being delivered. Morayfield led the house rankings and was only about 40 per cent ahead of Pimpama in tenth place, with Caboolture, Redbank Plains and Springfield Lakes also in the top 10. Regional centres featured strongly, with Kirwan in Townsville ranked third, Maryborough fifth, Gracemere seventh and Emerald eighth.

Affordability appears to be part of that pattern. Median house prices were $565,000 in Maryborough, $570,000 in Emerald, $665,000 in Kirwan and $720,000 in Gracemere, all below the Queensland median of $890,000, at a time when the Reserve Bank has raised the cash rate to 4.6 per cent, its fourth increase this year. Regional Queensland is becoming a much more compelling alternative for buyers under financial pressure.

New apartment supply is also shaping the unit market. Maroochydore moved from ninth to fifth place for unit sales as more than 1,800 high-rise apartments are unlocked through the next phase of the city centre, while Varsity Lakes returned to the top 10 as projects such as the 289-apartment Cienna Varsity Ridge and the 156-apartment COMO add new stock. Whether the developer and builder amendment extends to apartment purchases is a question practitioners should confirm against the legislation.

Although the changes are modest, they sit on transactions that make up a significant share of the Queensland market, particularly vacant land and new homes. Practitioners are well placed to confirm eligibility early, because a technicality identified at contract is far easier to resolve than one discovered close to settlement.

What practitioners can check at contract stage

Practitioners acting for first home buyers may wish to confirm the following before exchange:

Whether any structure, including a shed, sits on land being purchased as vacant land for the first home vacant land concession.
How the property passed between the developer and the builder, and whether the contract structure could affect its treatment as a new home.
Whether the commencement and transitional provisions of the amending Act apply to the contract date for the matter.
Whether the buyer meets the current eligibility requirements, noting that the Queensland Revenue Office has advised that eligibility for transfer duty home concessions changed from 1 August 2026.

The Queensland Revenue Office guidance and the text of the Act remain the authoritative sources for each of these points.

Explore the full Queensland data

The complete Q3 2026 figures, including the top 10 rankings for houses and units, are available in InfoTrack’s Queensland Property Market Update.

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