A builder focused entirely on first home buyers has put a price on all 26 of its Queensland designs. Eleven come in under $300,000, and the numbers show how much land a buyer can still afford before the state’s grant cap applies.
Price is the first question every first home buyer asks, and it is often the hardest one to get a straight answer on. Mayde, a builder that works exclusively with first home buyers, has taken a different approach in Queensland.
Its September 2026 price list puts a base price against every home design in its Queensland range, in two specification levels, on a single page.
The cheapest is the Poppy 15, a three bedroom, two bathroom home of 137.14 square metres, listed at $234,400. The largest, the Ivy 33, covers 306.05 square metres and starts at $409,200.
For first home buyers, those numbers land on the figure that matters most in Queensland: $750,000. For builders, the list is a clear example of a product range priced around a threshold.
The Queensland price list starts at $234,400
The range covers 26 designs across Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and the Fraser Coast. Each design is priced twice, once at a Starter specification and once at an Elevate specification.
At Starter level, 11 designs come in under $300,000. Seven of those are four bedroom homes, including the Ollie 17 at $264,500, which fits a lot just 10 metres wide.
According to the product book, every design comes with a choice of 10 standard facades and a design appointment with Mayde’s Elle interiors team, where finishes, fixtures and fittings are chosen in a single session.
The gap between the two specification levels is published too. It runs from $43,700 on the Parker 19 to $65,500 on the Remi 28, so the cost of stepping up is visible before a buyer sits down with a sales consultant.
Base house price
The price to build the home on a given design, before land. In Queensland, the first home owner grant tests the value of the home and the land together, so the base house price and the land price have to be read as one number.
Why the $750,000 grant line matters in Queensland
Queensland’s first home owner grant is $30,000 for contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023, according to the Queensland Revenue Office. The home must be new, and its value, including land and any contract variations, must be less than $750,000. Income has no bearing on eligibility.
The 2026/27 state budget locked the $30,000 amount in for four years, as set out in our coverage of the Queensland budget.
The cap itself has been a talking point in the industry. When we reported on calls to lift the grant cap, builders argued it was pushing buyers further out to find eligible homes.
On top of the grant, first home buyers of a new home can claim a full transfer duty concession with no value cap for contracts dated from 1 May 2025, according to QRO. First home buyers purchasing vacant land to build on can also pay no duty on that land.
With the grant and the duty concession working together, the house price becomes a question of how much land budget it leaves.
How much land budget each design leaves under the cap
For a house and land package with a separate land contract and building contract, QRO treats the build as a contract to build. The value tested against the cap is the building contract plus the value of the land.
Subtract the base house price from $750,000 and the result is roughly the ceiling on land and variations for the grant to apply. Because the test is less than $750,000, the true ceiling sits just below that figure.
| Minimum lot width | Lowest priced design | Starter base price | Left for land and variations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 metres | Poppy 15 | $234,400 | Just under $515,600 |
| 12.5 metres | Parker 19 | $282,900 | Just under $467,100 |
| 14 metres | Tobey 21 | $299,400 | Just under $450,600 |
| 16 metres | Otis 24 | $324,600 | Just under $425,400 |
Source: Mayde QLD Price List, September 2026. Calculations are ours and are indicative only.
Even at the top of the range, the Ivy 33 in Elevate specification at $470,300 leaves $279,700 for land and variations.
Mayde’s website shows how this plays out in practice. A package in Highland Estate at Walloon, near Ipswich, pairs the Oscar 17 with a 10 by 28 metre lot for $713,500, inside the grant line. Other Queensland packages listed on the site, with four bedroom designs on larger lots at Walloon and Bundamba, sit above $850,000. Lot size and location are what move a package across the line.
Bigger homes cost less per square metre
Dividing each Starter price by its floor area shows a consistent pattern. The Poppy 15 works out at about $1,709 per square metre. The four bedroom Ollie 17 is about $1,645. The Remi 28 and the Ivy 33 both sit at about $1,337.
Every home needs a kitchen, bathrooms, a laundry and a garage, whatever its size. As a design grows, those fixed costs are spread over more floor area, so each additional square metre costs less than the average.
For a first home buyer, that means a larger design often delivers more space for a smaller step up in price than the floor area alone would suggest. A list that prices every design on the same basis makes that easy to see.
What builders can take from a range priced for first home buyers
The Mayde list is a useful case study in how a building business prices its product when the buyer is working to a fixed number.
Three features stand out. Prices are published for every design at both specification levels, so the buyer can do the maths before the first meeting. Seven designs are built for 10 metre frontages, which suits the narrow lots common in growth corridors such as Ripley, Logan and Moreton Bay. And key choices are bundled, with 10 facades as standard and selections made in one design appointment, which keeps the number of decisions manageable for someone doing this for the first time.
None of this is unique to one builder. What the list shows is how clearly a range can be laid out when it is designed around a threshold rather than adjusted to fit one later.
A published price is the starting point
A base house price is only one part of the cost of a new home. Land, variations and finance all sit on top, and buyers still need to confirm exactly what a contract covers.
But in a market where housing market conditions have pushed many first home buyers to the edge of what they can borrow, a range that starts at $234,400 and shows every upgrade in dollars gives them somewhere solid to begin.
The Good Builder Take
Transparent pricing is a trust signal, and first home buyers are the group most in need of one. They are working to a hard limit set by the grant cap, a lender and their own savings.
A builder that publishes every price, including the cost of the upgrade, lets buyers rule designs in or out before they commit time to a sales process. For builders chasing the first home market, that clarity is as much a part of the product as the floor plan.
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Frequently asked questions
The Poppy 15 is the lowest priced design on Mayde’s September 2026 Queensland price list, at a Starter base price of $234,400. It is a three bedroom, two bathroom home of 137.14 square metres suited to a 10 by 25 metre lot. The price is for the house only and does not include land.
The home and land must be valued at less than $750,000, including any contract variations, according to the Queensland Revenue Office. The grant is $30,000 for contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023, and income is not tested.
Eligible first home buyers pay no transfer duty on a new home for contracts dated from 1 May 2025, under the first home (new home) concession. QRO states there is no value cap on the home and residential land. A separate concession removes duty on vacant land bought to build a first home.
Yes, it may. Where the buyer signs a land contract and a separate building contract, QRO treats it as a contract to build. The value tested against the $750,000 cap is the building contract plus the land value, and the buyer must meet the other eligibility criteria.
Related articles
- Pressure intensifies on state to lift cap for Queensland First Home Owner Grant
- Queensland Budget 2026/27: a record $119 billion build and a bigger housing bet
- Why first home buyers are turning to new builds, and why builders have the edge
Last updated: 29 September 2026. Prices are from Mayde’s Queensland price list dated September 2026 and are subject to change.
General information only. This article is general in nature and does not constitute financial, legal or professional advice. Grant and concession eligibility depends on individual circumstances. Readers should confirm details with the Queensland Revenue Office and the builder before making any decision.
Author: TGB Editorial
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