A steady stream of Sydney buyers are looking north — some to invest, some to relocate, some buying a place they’ll eventually retire to.
The Gold Coast is an easy market to like and a surprisingly easy one to get wrong, because several things work differently to what you’re used to in NSW. Here’s what interstate buyers most often miss.
The contract works differently in Queensland
This is the big one, and it catches nearly everyone.
In NSW, you’re used to a cooling-off period on private treaty sales, a section 149 planning certificate, and settlement typically around six weeks.
In Queensland, the framework differs in ways that materially change your risk:
- The cooling-off periodoperates under different rules and timeframes to NSW
- Contracts are commonly made subject to finance— with a specified finance date — in a way that’s far more standard practice than in NSW
- The finance clause is doing real work, which means your finance date is a genuine deadline with consequences
- Different disclosure obligations apply
None of this is advice you should take from a mortgage broker. Engage a Queensland solicitor or conveyancer before you sign anything. A NSW conveyancer, however good, is not the right person for a Queensland contract.
What it means from the finance side is simple: your finance date is real, and you want your lending sorted — or at least well advanced — before you’re negotiating.
Lender policy is location-specific, and the Gold Coast is a place lenders think about
Lenders don’t treat all postcodes equally, and coastal Queensland has historically attracted specific attention.
Things that can affect your borrowing:
- Postcode restrictions.Some lenders apply reduced maximum LVRs in areas they consider higher-risk or subject to oversupply. These lists change over time and differ between lenders.
- Apartment policy.This is the one that bites hardest on the Gold Coast. Lenders apply rules around minimum floor area, building size, and the proportion of a single building any one lender will hold. A high-rise tower where a lender is already heavily exposed can be restricted regardless of how good the apartment is.
- Holiday letting and short-stay.If a property is on a short-stay arrangement or in a building with significant holiday letting, some lenders are cautious or won’t lend at all. Serviced apartments and management-rights buildings are a category of their own and need care.
- Flood and natural hazard overlays.Insurance availability and cost affect lender appetite, and can affect your ongoing holding costs significantly.
- In fast-moving or thinly-traded submarkets, valuations can surprise you.
The upshot: an apartment that seems perfectly ordinary can be difficult to finance with a given lender — while being straightforward with another. Finding that out after your finance date is a bad way to find out.
Costs interstate buyers overlook
Buying across a state border introduces costs and rules you may not have modelled:
Transfer duty (stamp duty) in Queensland operates under different rules and concessions to NSW. Some concessions apply to owner-occupiers and first home buyers; investors generally face different treatment. Check current Queensland Revenue Office rules — don’t assume NSW logic transfers.
Foreign and absentee surcharges apply in some circumstances. If any part of your ownership structure involves a non-resident or a trust with foreign beneficiaries, get this checked carefully — trust deeds sometimes need amending, and the surcharge can be significant.
Land tax is assessed on a state-by-state basis. If you own property in multiple states, your position is more complicated than a single-state investor’s. This is an accountant’s question.
Body corporate fees in Gold Coast high-rises — particularly buildings with resort facilities, lifts and extensive common property — can be considerably higher than a comparable Sydney strata levy. This directly affects your cash flow, and lenders factor it into serviceability.
A note on the 2026 tax changes. If you’re buying as an investor, be aware that negative gearing and capital gains tax rules have changed. Announced in the 2026–27 Federal Budget on 12 May 2026, these measures are now law (carried by the same Act as the SMSF borrowing changes), with effect from 1 July 2027. In broad terms:
- Negative gearingon established residential dwellings acquired after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 will be limited from 1 July 2027, with excess rental losses able to be carried forward rather than deducted against other income.
- Grandfatheringapplies to dwellings last acquired before 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026, tested by contract date.
- The 50% CGT discountis being replaced with a cost base indexation method for CGT events on or after 1 July 2027, and a 30% minimum tax will apply to capital gains — for an investor audience this is at least as significant as the change to the discount itself.
- New residential dwellingsdisposed of on or after 1 July 2027 may be able to elect between the 50% discount and the new indexation regime.
The detail is genuinely complex, and how it affects you depends on your circumstances, structure and timing — this is firmly a question for your accountant, not a mortgage broker, and it’s worth resolving before you commit rather than after. We flag it only so it’s on your radar.
If you’re relocating rather than investing
Different set of issues:
- Will your employment continue?If you’re relocating with the same employer, or moving to a new role, lenders care about probation and continuity.
- If you’re self-employed, moving your business across states raises questions about client continuity that lenders will ask about.
- Buy first or sell first?Bridging finance is one answer; a longer settlement is another; renting in between is a third. Each has trade-offs, and the right one depends on your equity position and risk appetite.
Why use a broker with a foot in both markets
Most brokers are one or the other: a Sydney broker who doesn’t know Gold Coast stock, or a Gold Coast broker who doesn’t know your Sydney equity position and NSW lending history.
Tiger Mortgage operates in both. We’re headquartered in Chatswood with an office at Robina Town Centre, serving Robina, Southport and the wider Gold Coast.
That matters when you’re using equity in a Sydney property to fund a Queensland purchase — because the structuring decision sits across both, and getting it wrong (cross-collateralising when you shouldn’t, for instance) is one of those mistakes that quietly limits you for years.
We work with:
- Sydney investors buying their first Queensland property
- Families relocating north
- Buyers using Sydney equity to fund a Gold Coast purchase
- SMSFs acquiring Queensland investment property — see our SMSF lending page
- Medical professionals moving for work — see our professionals page
👉 Book a conversation with a broker who knows both markets.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a home loan for a Gold Coast property while living in Sydney? Yes. Lending is national — you don’t need a Queensland lender. What changes is the lender’s view of the property and location, not your address.
Do I need a Queensland conveyancer? Yes. Queensland contracts and processes differ from NSW. Engage a Queensland solicitor or conveyancer before signing.
Is stamp duty different in Queensland? Yes. Transfer duty rules, rates and concessions are set by each state. Check current Queensland Revenue Office rules for your situation.
Can I use equity in my Sydney home to buy on the Gold Coast? Commonly, yes. How it’s structured matters a great deal — particularly whether the properties end up cross-collateralised, which can restrict your flexibility later.
Why are some Gold Coast apartments hard to finance? Lenders apply policies around minimum floor size, building exposure limits, holiday-letting arrangements, and postcode risk. These vary by lender, so a property that’s difficult with one may be fine with another.
Do I pay land tax in both states? Land tax is assessed per state, based on the land you hold in that state. Owning across states creates complexity — ask your accountant.
This article is general information only and doesn’t take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not legal, tax or conveyancing advice — please engage appropriate Queensland professionals. State duty and land tax rules change; verify current rules with the relevant revenue office. Tiger Mortgage Pty Ltd (ABN 21 649 980 807), Credit Representative 532909 of Australian Finance Group Ltd, Australian Credit Licence 389087.
