House and land packages for first home buyers: what you can get in 2026
Why a new house and land package is the purchase most likely to qualify for the grant, the stamp duty concession and a 5% deposit at once, with the figures for each state.
Is a house and land package a good option for a first home buyer?
For many first home buyers in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, yes. A house and land package is a new home, so it can qualify for the First Home Owner Grant ($30,000 in Queensland, $10,000 in Victoria and WA). It usually pays little or no stamp duty, and it can be bought with a 5% deposit under the federal 5% Deposit Scheme. An established home can't get the grant in any of the three states.
The trade-off is time. You buy the land, then wait for the build, and in most cases you keep paying rent until handover. Weigh that against the grant and duty savings, which on a typical first home can run to tens of thousands of dollars.
What is a house and land package?
It is a block of land, usually in a new estate, paired with a home design from a builder. Most are bought under two contracts: a contract for the land, and a separate building contract for the home. Some are sold as a single contract for a completed home.
The two-contract structure matters for first home buyers for two reasons:
- The home is new. That is the condition every state attaches to its First Home Owner Grant.
- Stamp duty usually falls on the land contract. The building contract is generally not a dutiable transfer, so duty is assessed on the land price rather than the land plus the build. That often brings the duty to nil under the first home concessions below.
What can a first home buyer get on a house and land package in each state?
| Benefit | Queensland | Victoria | Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Home Owner Grant | $30,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Grant value cap (home and land) | Under $750,000 | $750,000 or less | $800,000 or less south of the 26th parallel (incl. Perth); $1,000,000 north |
| Stamp duty on the land | Nil on residential vacant land for contracts from 1 May 2025; build and move in within 2 years | None to $600,000; sliding-scale concession to $750,000 | None to $450,000; concession to $550,000 (from 7 May 2026) |
| 5% Deposit Scheme price cap | $1,000,000 Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast; $700,000 rest of state | $950,000 Melbourne, Geelong; $650,000 rest of state | $850,000 Perth; $600,000 rest of state |
Figures verified against Queensland Revenue Office, State Revenue Office Victoria, RevenueWA and firsthomebuyers.gov.au; see the sources below. For a house and land package, the 5% Deposit Scheme price cap is tested on the land and build together. Each state guide has the full conditions: Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia.
How does buying a house and land package work?
- Check what you qualify for. Find out which grants and schemes fit your income, postcode and budget, and what a lender will lend. Home loan assistance is provided separately by My Finance People or your chosen lender.
- Choose the land and the home. Match a block to a design that fits the grant and price caps once land and build are added together.
- Sign the land contract and the building contract. Read what the build price includes, such as site costs, driveway, fencing and landscaping, so the total doesn't creep over a cap.
- Settle the land. This is usually where any stamp duty, or the first home concession, applies.
- Build. A construction loan usually pays the builder in stages as the build progresses.
- Handover and move in. Each grant and concession has a deadline for moving in and a minimum period you must live there, so plan around them.
What should you check before signing?
- The total against every cap. Add land and build together, then check the result against the grant cap and the 5% Deposit Scheme cap for that postcode.
- Whether the land has titled. Land in a new estate may not be registered yet, which affects when you settle and how long you keep renting.
- What is fixed and what isn't. Ask whether the build price is fixed and which site costs are provisional.
- The builder's licence. Check it with the state building regulator.
- The move-in deadlines. In Queensland, for example, the vacant land concession requires you to build and move in within 2 years of settlement, and this cannot be extended.
Where Your Property Pathway fits
We introduce first home buyers to our builder partners offering house and land packages in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, explain which grants and concessions may apply, and help coordinate the next steps. Your Property Pathway does not provide credit assistance and receives no commission or referral fee from finance providers. Home loan assistance is provided separately by My Finance People. See how our first home buyer pathway works.
Find out which benefits a package could get you
Five minutes, no documents, no credit check. You get a straight answer either way, and if the timing is not right yet, the specific list of what would change it.
Prefer to talk now? Call 0418 252 432.
Questions first home buyers ask about house and land packages
Can I get the First Home Owner Grant on a house and land package?
Yes, in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, because a house and land package is a new home. The grant is $30,000 in Queensland (home and land under $750,000), $10,000 in Victoria ($750,000 or less) and $10,000 in WA ($800,000 or less south of the 26th parallel, including Perth). The cap is tested on the land and the build together.
Do first home buyers pay stamp duty on a house and land package?
Usually little or none. When a package is bought as a land contract plus a separate building contract, duty is generally charged on the land only. In Queensland a first home buyer pays no duty on residential vacant land for contracts from 1 May 2025, provided they build and move in within 2 years. Victoria charges no duty up to $600,000, and WA no duty on vacant land up to $450,000.
Can I use the 5% Deposit Scheme on a house and land package?
Yes. The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme can be used to buy a house and land package, provided the land and build together are at or below the price cap for the postcode: $1,000,000 in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, $950,000 in Melbourne and Geelong, and $850,000 in Perth. Income caps were removed from 1 October 2025.
What are the downsides of a house and land package for a first home buyer?
Mainly time and cost certainty. You usually keep paying rent while the home is built, the land may not have titled yet, and site costs or variations can push the total over a grant or price cap if they are not fixed in the contract. Check what the build price includes and the move-in deadlines for each grant and concession before signing.
Is a house and land package better than an established home for a first home buyer?
It depends on the budget and location, but the grant is a major difference: the First Home Owner Grant applies only to new homes in Queensland, Victoria and WA. Established homes can still qualify for stamp duty concessions and the 5% Deposit Scheme, but not the grant.
Official sources
Every figure on this page comes from the administering body. Check these before acting.
- Queensland Revenue Office — First Home Owner Grant eligibility
- Queensland Revenue Office — first home vacant land concession (page last updated 31 July 2026)
- State Revenue Office Victoria — Understanding the First Home Owner Grant (page last updated 29 September 2026)
- State Revenue Office Victoria — First home buyer duty exemption or concession (page last updated 15 September 2026)
- RevenueWA — First Home Owner Grant fact sheet and first home owner rate of duty fact sheet (as at 28 July 2026)
- Housing Australia — 5% Deposit Scheme property price caps, including the postcode search tool
Where to go from here
- QLD first home buyer grants 2026, VIC and WA — the full conditions for each state.
- First home buyer pathways — low- and no-deposit routes.
- House and land packages for investors — if the purchase is an investment rather than a home to live in.
- Talk to the team — on 0418 252 432.
This page is general information, not financial, credit, legal or taxation advice, and it does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. Eligibility for grants, schemes and finance varies by state, lender and individual circumstances and is subject to current government criteria.