If you've been saving your deposit and quietly wondering whether the number will ever be enough, you're not alone. Most first home buyers in Logan, QLD underestimate what they can actually borrow, and they overestimate how much of a problem their situation is.

The honest answer is that your borrowing power depends on four things lenders can actually measure: your income, your existing debts, your living expenses, and the size of your deposit. What varies between lenders, sometimes significantly, is how each of those four things is weighted. A casual nurse at Logan Hospital and a PAYG sparky on wages with the same take-home pay can walk away from two different lenders with two very different numbers.

Our team helps first home buyers across Logan, QLD work through exactly this, comparing across 60+ lenders to find the lender whose assessment works best for your income shape. The first home loan structure you choose, and which lender you put your application to, matters as much as the rate.

Can a first home buyer in Logan, QLD borrow enough to actually buy?

Yes, and in most Logan suburbs the median house price still sits within reach of a first home buyer on a combined household income. CoreLogic data shows Woodridge with a median house price of $740,000, Logan Central at $720,000 and Marsden at $754,100, all comfortably under the $1,000,000 First Home Guarantee cap. Even Loganholme, where our office is, sits at $835,000 for houses, with units at $658,500. The gap between what you can borrow and what you need to buy is smaller in Logan than most buyers expect.

Source: CoreLogic (via YIP, mid-2026).

How do lenders calculate how much a first home buyer can borrow?

Lenders assess your borrowing capacity by asking one question: can you service this loan if interest rates rise? To answer it, they add APRA's 3% serviceability buffer on top of your actual rate, producing an assessment rate of approximately 9%. Your repayments are then stress-tested at that higher rate, not the rate you'll actually pay.

On top of that, they measure your living expenses against a benchmark called the Household Expenditure Measure. If your declared expenses come in below the benchmark, lenders substitute the benchmark figure, so declaring low expenses doesn't increase your capacity the way most buyers expect.

Every credit card limit also reduces what you can borrow, assessed as though the card is fully drawn, at roughly 3% to 3.8% of the limit each month. A $10,000 limit you've never touched still costs you real borrowing capacity. Paying down balances is useful; cancelling unused cards before you apply often moves the number more.

Source: APRA.

What eligibility conditions apply to first home buyer borrowing in Logan?

To qualify as a first home buyer, you must not have previously owned residential property in Australia. That applies to each applicant, so if one partner on a joint application has owned before, neither of you qualifies for the First Home Owner Grant or the full duty concession.

What lenders will verify:

• › Income evidence: two recent payslips for PAYG borrowers; two years of tax returns for self-employed applicants, with variations for add-backs depending on your lender.
• › Employment status: permanent roles are assessed at full income; casual roles typically need around 12 months of consistent history in the same field before lenders count them in full.
• › Variable income: overtime, penalty rates and shift allowances are commonly shaded between 80% and 100% depending on the lender, and most want six to twelve months of history before counting them at all.
• › Existing debts: every credit card limit, personal loan and HECS repayment is counted as an ongoing commitment and reduces your borrowing figure.
• › Deposit and genuine savings: most lenders want evidence of genuine savings held for at least three months, not just a recent gift or inheritance.

How much can a first home buyer borrow in Logan, QLD, and what does that mean for your deposit?

What your deposit actually buys you

Your deposit size determines two things: your loan-to-value ratio and whether you pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance. At 20% or more, LMI drops away entirely. Below that, it applies, and the premium is not small. On a $740,000 purchase with a 5% deposit, LMI adds approximately $21,000 to the loan balance; at 10% it's closer to $14,000. Some buyers absorb that cost deliberately to enter the market sooner. Others wait for the 20% mark. Neither approach is wrong; the right answer depends on your rent, your savings rate, and what prices are doing locally.

The deposit pathways worth comparing:

• › First Home Guarantee (5% deposit): 5% deposit · no LMI · no income test · Logan cap $1,000,000 · first home buyers only
• › Family Home Guarantee (2% deposit): 2% deposit · no LMI · single parents/guardians · not first-home-buyer only · same $1,000,000 Logan cap
• › Standard loan with LMI: 5% to 10% deposit · LMI premium added to the loan · no price cap · wider lender choice
• › Full 20% deposit: no LMI · no guarantee needed · every lender available · strongest negotiating position on rate

Source: Housing Australia.

How Logan medians sit against the cap

The good news for Logan buyers is that most suburbs' house medians still fall under the $1,000,000 cap. Suburbs like Woodridge ($740,000), Kingston ($771,000) and Beenleigh ($746,000) leave genuine headroom. A handful of Logan suburbs, including Cornubia ($1,200,000), Shailer Park ($1,142,500) and Springwood ($1,080,000), have house medians above the cap, so first home buyers there are typically looking at units or considering a cheaper nearby suburb. Units across much of Logan remain well under the cap, with Logan Central units at $441,000 and Woodridge units at $520,000 offering accessible entry points.

Get in touch Need help with a home loan as a first home buyer? We're a local team who understand how lenders actually assess your situation, not just your rate. We'll compare your options across 60+ lenders to find the right fit. Chat to Our Team Call 1800 774 756

What government schemes can first home buyers in Logan use?

Four schemes are genuinely relevant to Logan buyers right now. Eligibility runs on your property price and your situation, not your income, for most of them.

• › Queensland First Home Owner Grant:$30,000 on a new home with a value under $750,000, continued for contracts from 1 July 2026. No income test. New homes only; established homes don't qualify for the grant.
• › Transfer duty concession:$0 duty on a new home (no price cap, from 1 May 2025); $0 on an established home valued up to $700,000; partial concession up to $800,000. Applies to Australian citizens and permanent residents from 1 August 2026.
• › First Home Guarantee: 5% deposit, no LMI, no income test. The $1,000,000 Logan cap covers most of the suburb list. First home buyers only.
• › Help to Buy: the federal shared-equity scheme, up to 40% government equity on a new home. Income caps apply: $103,000 single, $165,000 joint or single parent (from 1 July 2026). Same $1,000,000 price cap for Logan.
• › Queensland Boost to Buy: the state shared-equity scheme, up to 30% government equity on a new home. Logan sits within SEQ, and SEQ allocations were exhausted in Round 1. Confirm current availability before treating this as an open option.

Source: Queensland Revenue Office and Housing Australia.

When does borrowing the maximum not make sense for a first home buyer?

Borrowing your absolute ceiling leaves no room for anything to change. A rate rise, a reduction in hours, a parental leave period, or a large unexpected expense all feel manageable until the buffer disappears. Lenders build in a 3% stress test, but the stress test is designed to get the loan approved, not to tell you what you can comfortably live on.

The more honest question isn't "how much can I borrow?" but "how much do I want to be paying each month in three years, when life looks different to how it does today?" For most Logan first home buyers, that lands somewhere between 80% and 90% of their assessed maximum, not at the ceiling. If borrowing to your limit means you can't build a savings buffer after repayments, you're carrying more risk than the rate reflects.

How do you work out your borrowing power in Logan, QLD, step by step?

Step 1: Talk to us

We work through your income shape, your debts and your deposit to give you a realistic borrowing figure, not a theoretical maximum that won't survive an application.

Step 2: Assess your full position

We look at which income types count and at what percentage, what your existing debts cost you in capacity, and whether your deposit qualifies you for any of the government schemes above.

Step 3: Match you to the right lender

We identify which lenders on our 60+ panel assess your income shape most favourably and submit your application to the one most likely to approve at the number you're actually looking for.

Step 4: Support you through to approval and settlement

We manage the conditional approval process, respond to any lender queries, and coordinate with your conveyancer so nothing stalls between offer and settlement.

What approval challenges do first home buyers face in Logan?

Where applications run into trouble:

• › HECS debt: a HECS repayment is assessed as an ongoing commitment and reduces borrowing capacity, even if the balance is modest. For buyers with larger HECS balances, the repayment at their income level can cost $30,000 to $50,000 in capacity.
• › Casual or irregular income: buyers working casual shifts or in variable-hours roles need consistent history before lenders will count the income fully, and the percentage counted varies between lenders by enough to matter.
• › Multiple credit limits: buyers with two or three credit cards, even at low balances, often find a combined limit of $20,000 to $30,000 meaningfully reduces what they can borrow. Cancelling unused limits before applying is one of the fastest practical fixes.
• › Buy Now Pay Later: BNPL accounts appear on bank statements and are treated as commitments by many lenders. Closing them before applying removes the question.
• › Applying to the wrong lender first: each application leaves a credit enquiry on your file. Applying to a lender that's unlikely to approve at your number, then reapplying elsewhere, can make the second application harder than the first. Getting the lender match right before you apply matters more than speed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can a first home buyer borrow in Logan, QLD on a single income?

That depends on your income, debts and expenses rather than a fixed formula. What moves the number most for a single-income buyer is whether overtime or shift allowances can be counted, and which lender's assessment works best for your income type.

Does HECS debt affect how much a first home buyer can borrow?

Yes. Lenders treat your compulsory HECS repayment as an ongoing commitment and reduce your borrowing capacity accordingly. The repayment amount, not the balance, is what counts in the assessment.

Is the First Home Guarantee available in all Logan suburbs?

Yes. Logan falls within Greater Brisbane, so the $1,000,000 capital-city cap applies uniformly across all Logan suburbs. Most house medians in the area sit under that cap, though a handful of premium suburbs exceed it.

Can first home buyers in Logan get the $30,000 Queensland grant on any property?

No. The $30,000 First Home Owner Grant applies to new homes only, with a home value under $750,000. Established homes don't qualify for the grant, though they may qualify for a transfer duty concession up to $800,000.

Is the LMI waiver or the First Home Guarantee a better option for first home buyers?

The First Home Guarantee is almost always preferable where you qualify, because it eliminates LMI entirely at a 5% deposit with no income test. A professional LMI waiver is a separate pathway relevant only to specific occupations and subject to lender panel access.

Should a first home buyer use a mortgage broker or go direct to a bank?

A mortgage broker, every time. The bank you approach first can only offer its own products; a broker compares across 60+ lenders and identifies which one assesses your income shape most favourably, which directly affects how much you can borrow and what rate you pay.

Your Next Steps

For first home buyers in Logan, QLD, the borrowing question is rarely as simple as a single number. Your income type, your debts, your deposit, and which lender you put your application to all shape the figure you actually get. Two buyers on identical salaries can walk away with meaningfully different results depending on those variables, and that's exactly why lender comparison does more than rate comparison.

Ready to find out which lenders will work best for your first home loan? Contact the Cube Loans team or call 1800 774 756. We'll canvas our 60+ lender panel and find the most suitable options for your circumstances.

About the author Nevada Matthews Mortgage Broker and Co-Owner, Cube Loans Nevada Matthews is a mortgage broker and co-owner of Cube Loans, helping first home buyers, investors and business owners across Loganholme and the wider Logan region. He started broking in 2019 and was named New Broker of the Year (QLD) in 2023, and operates under Cube Central Pty Ltd (Credit Representative 472851), authorised under Australian Credit Licence 517192. Meet Nevada → LinkedIn

Cube Loans, Loganholme and Logan, QLD, Cube Central Pty Ltd, Credit Representative 472851, authorised under Australian Credit Licence 517192, General information only - this article does not constitute financial advice. Please consider your own circumstances and seek professional advice before making any financial decisions.