Downsizing in Hervey Bay: How the $300,000 Super Contribution Works

Hervey Bay has one of the largest retiree populations on the Queensland coast, and downsizing conversations here often bring up the same question: what actually happens to the money from selling the family home? For eligible homeowners, the downsizer superannuation contribution is part of the answer — though it’s a superannuation strategy, not a loan product, so it’s worth understanding the difference before you assume it affects your finance.

What the downsizer contribution is

If you’re 55 or older and sell a home you’ve owned for 10 or more years, you may be able to contribute up to $300,000 (or $600,000 combined for a couple) from the sale proceeds into your superannuation fund — outside the normal contribution caps that would otherwise limit how much you can add to super. There’s no upper age limit, and unlike some super contributions, there’s no work test to meet.

Contributions generally need to be made within 90 days of settlement, so it’s a decision that needs to be actioned promptly after your sale settles, not left for later in the year.

This is a superannuation decision, not a mortgage one

We’re mortgage brokers, not financial advisers, and the downsizer contribution sits squarely in financial advice territory — it interacts with your super balance, pension eligibility (including Centrelink asset testing) and retirement income strategy. Where a downsizing conversation touches on those areas, we’ll say so plainly and point you toward a licensed financial adviser rather than guessing.

Where finance still comes into it

What we do help with is the practical side of the move itself:

• Whether you need to borrow anything at all, or can buy your next home outright from sale proceeds
• Bridging finance if you want to buy your next place before your current home settles
• Structuring a smaller loan if you’d rather keep some funds invested than tie it all up in property
• How lenders assess retirees and near-retirees, which differs from how working applicants are assessed

Moving within Hervey Bay or across to Maryborough

Whether you’re moving from a larger home in Kawungan into something more manageable closer to the water, or relocating across to be nearer family in Maryborough West, the finance side of a downsizing move is usually more straightforward than people expect — provided it’s set up correctly from the start. Talk to us about the finance side of downsizing, and to a financial adviser about the superannuation side.