In short: GNT Finance is a Melbourne-based mortgage broker serving the Gold Coast from Coolangatta to Coomera by phone, video and e-signature. We compare lenders for first home buyers, sea-changers and investors, and know which lenders accept high-rise, canal-front and holiday-let properties. The First Home Guarantee cap is $1,000,000 and first home buyers pay no duty on new homes. No cost to you in most cases.
The Gold Coast is Australia's largest non-capital city and behaves like several markets at once. The beachfront towers, the canal estates, the hinterland acreage and the northern growth corridor each attract different buyers and different lender policies. That variety is why a broker with the whole panel matters more here than in a uniform suburb.
Gold Coast housing: what you are buying
- Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Southport and Main Beach: high-rise apartments, from small holiday units to large owner-occupier residences.
- Mermaid Waters, Robina, Varsity Lakes and Hope Island: canal and lake-front houses, many from the 1980s and 1990s, plus newer gated estates.
- Burleigh, Palm Beach and Currumbin: beachside houses and low-rise units in the southern suburbs, with strong owner-occupier demand.
- Coomera, Pimpama, Upper Coomera and Ormeau: the northern growth corridor, where house-and-land packages and near-new homes serve families commuting to both the Gold Coast and Brisbane.
- Nerang, Mudgeeraba and the hinterland: larger blocks and acreage, and a different lender conversation.
Lender policy on the Gold Coast
The Gold Coast is where lender policy shows its teeth. High-density towers can attract lower maximum LVRs and minimum floor areas. Units in managed holiday complexes with on-site letting are often treated as serviced apartments and need a specialist lender or a larger deposit. High body corporate fees reduce borrowing capacity. Hinterland acreage runs into land-size limits with some lenders. None of this stops a purchase, but it changes which lender you should apply to. See buying off the plan for the questions to ask about a building.
Schemes that matter on the Gold Coast
| Scheme | Rule (at the time of writing) |
|---|---|
| First Home Guarantee cap | $1,000,000 (shared with Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast) |
| Transfer duty, new home or vacant land | Nil for eligible first home buyers at any price |
| Transfer duty, established home | Exempt to $700,000, concession to $800,000 |
| First Home Owner Grant | New homes; check the current amount |
Because the new-home duty exemption has no price cap, a first home buyer building in Pimpama or buying a new apartment in Southport can combine it with the guarantee's 5% deposit. Read the Queensland page for the state rules and our First Home Guarantee guide for eligibility.
Worked example: building in the northern corridor
Say you buy a $750,000 house-and-land package in Pimpama as your first home.
- Transfer duty: nil on the land and nil on the build, because it is a new home for an eligible first home buyer.
- First Home Owner Grant: applies to the new home at whatever amount the Queensland Revenue Office currently pays.
- Deposit under the First Home Guarantee: 5%, or $37,500. No LMI, subject to the lender accepting the package under the scheme.
- Loan: $712,500, drawn in progress payments. For illustration, at 6.00% p.a. over 30 years the full repayment is about $4,272 a month.
Our house-and-land packages page explains the construction loan, and construction loan progress payments walks through each stage.
Who we help on the Gold Coast
- Sea-changers from Melbourne and Sydney, often selling a larger city home. A bridging loan can cover the gap if the coast purchase settles first.
- Investors buying apartments or northern-corridor houses. We model the yield and holding costs in the investment property cashflow calculator and structure the deposit from existing equity. See investment property loans.
- Self-employed tradespeople and tourism operators, who benefit from lenders that accept one year of financials. See self-employed loans.
How we work with Gold Coast clients
The process is entirely remote: a phone or video discovery call, secure document upload, lender comparison, electronic identity check and e-signed loan documents, with your Gold Coast conveyancer handling the contract.
Nearby areas
Brisbane and Logan to the north, the Sunshine Coast, and Tweed Heads across the border in New South Wales, where NSW rules apply.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a home loan on a Surfers Paradise apartment?
Yes, but the building matters. Larger apartments in owner-occupier buildings are standard security. Small units, buildings with on-site holiday letting and towers where a lender already has heavy exposure can attract lower maximum LVRs or a decline from some lenders. We check the building against lender policy before you make an offer so you apply to a lender that wants it.
Does the First Home Guarantee $1,000,000 cap apply on the Gold Coast?
Yes. Housing Australia includes the Gold Coast in the same capital city area as Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, so the $1,000,000 cap applies at the time of writing. The other conditions are federal: citizen or permanent resident, 18 or over, owner-occupier and no property owned in Australia in the last 10 years. Check the eligibility calculator.
Is Tweed Heads treated the same as Coolangatta?
No. Tweed Heads is in New South Wales, so NSW transfer duty, the NSW First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme and the regional NSW guarantee cap of $800,000 apply. Coolangatta, across the street, is in Queensland. Buyers comparing both sides of the border need both sets of rules, and we run the numbers for each in the stamp duty calculator.
How do body corporate fees affect my borrowing power?
Lenders count body corporate fees as a fixed ongoing expense, so a unit with $10,000 a year in fees reduces your borrowing capacity compared with a house at the same price. High-rise towers with pools, lifts and security tend to have the highest fees. We include the actual fee in the serviceability calculation so the pre-approval is realistic.
Talk to GNT Finance
Building in Pimpama, buying an apartment in Broadbeach, or investing on the Gold Coast from Melbourne? We compare lenders, check the building or estate against policy, and manage the loan by phone and video. Book a free consultation or call 0426 403 703.
Written by Gorakh Timilsina
Founder, CEO & Senior Mortgage Consultant at GNT Finance. Gorakh started as a broker assistant, spent years as a senior credit officer assessing loan applications, and now helps Melbourne families get the right loan approved. English, Nepali and Hindi spoken.