How to buy a house in Australia in 2025

From suburb research to finance, signing contracts and moving in, here's the entire home buying journey in 8 steps.

Key takeaways

  • Buying a home is getting harder every year as property prices in most Australian cities continue to rise well beyond wage growth.
  • It's not impossible. It just means home buyers need to do more research, more planning, more careful budgeting and get a little more creative.
  • Finder's 8-step guide explains every step you need to take, with helpful tips and tricks along the way.

How do I buy a house in Australia?

Here are the basic steps in the home buying process.

  1. Figure out your budget and goals
  2. Work out how much you can borrow
  3. Research the property market
  4. Pick the property right for you
  5. Compare home loans
  6. Complete the purchase
  7. Prepare for settlement
  8. Get ready to move in

Cheat sheet: Finder's House buying checklist

If you don't feel like reading a long guide right now, download Finder's free home buying checklist and print out a copy.

Download our home buying checklist

1. Figure out your budget and goals

Are you looking to buy a house to live in or an investment property? Are you planning to have children soon? Do you want an apartment, house or townhouse?

What is your budget, realistically?

Answering these questions is a really important first step. You can even change your mind as you do more research. But you have to have some idea at the start.

Figuring out a realistic budget

One way to figure out how much you can afford to spend on a home is to determine your deposit size and then look at how much a home loan of a certain size would cost you each month.

Use a repayment calculator. Input a hypothetical borrowing amount and a realistic interest rate to see how much you'd have to repay each month. Can you afford the repayments? If not you should recalculate with a lower loan size.

2. Work out how much you can borrow

How much you can borrow for your home loan really depends on your individual circumstances. But it is definitely worth estimating your borrowing power before you start to search for properties.

You can use Finder's borrowing power calculator, but it's a good idea to try multiple bank calculators too.

What affects your borrowing power

  1. Your income. The more you earn the more you can borrow. If you're a low-income earner or you're receiving Centrelink benefits, it may be more difficult to qualify for a home loan.
  2. Your personal circumstances. Every dependent child you have lowers your borrowing amount. Most lenders want borrowers who have employed in the same job for at least 12 months.
  3. Your existing debts. A lender will review your credit report and look at your current debt levels, including limits on your credit cards and HECS-HELP debt. If you have bad credit, you may not be a good candidate for a home loan application. However, there are lenders that specialise in borrowers with bad credit.
  4. Your deposit. Ideally, you want to come up with at least a 20% deposit so you can avoid paying lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). If you don't have at least 10-20% deposit saved, there are low-deposit loans available.

Don't forget your other costs

As well as the mortgage you need to consider costs like government charges, lenders fees and other costs like conveyancing. Some of the major upfront costs include stamp duty, building and pest inspections, settlement fees and lenders mortgage insurance (LMI).

Learn how to estimate your home-buying costs.

Did you know?
According to Finder's research, 70% of first home buyers in 2025 have bought or are planning to buy a house with a deposit under 20%.

3. Research the property market

How your property location fits into your lifestyle is one of the most important decisions you'll make in the home buying process. It's a matter of balancing your priorities and finding a suitable location that will match your needs and financial situation.

You need to carefully consider the geographic location of your property and how this will satisfy your lifestyle needs, particularly if you intend to stay there for an extended period of time.

You may also find that building your home may be a worthwhile option. If this is a consideration you should keep in mind suburbs with potential for future growth.

Learn how to research suburbs

4. Pick the right property for you

After fine-tuning different locations for your future home, you now need to research different properties that are listed on the market within these suburbs.

Here are some things to keep top of mind when deciding on property type.

Property size

Property size

How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need? Is the amount of space you need now the same as the space you'll need in the future? Do you want an extra bedroom for guests or potential tenants?

Think about your lifestyle needs and the property size that will allow you to live comfortably.

House or apartment

House or unit?

One of the biggest choices you'll have to make when selecting a property is whether to buy a house or a unit. While houses are typically more expensive, they've historically seen higher levels of capital growth. A detached house also offers more flexibility for renovations and additions.

Units have a lower price point than detached houses, so can be a good choice for first home buyers.

Should you buy a house or unit?

5. Compare home loans

You can start searching for home loan once you've signed a contract to buy a property. But you can actually start this process before you find the right home.

When you're comparing home loans, consider the following:

  • Interest rate. Ideally, you want to find a home loan that offers a competitive interest rate by market standards. A lower interest rate can go a long way in helping you maximise your savings.
  • Fees. When comparing different home loans, you should keep an eye out for application or establishment fees, ongoing fees and discharge fees. Finding a home loan with fewer fees will help you to minimise your holding mortgage costs.
  • Features. As mentioned previously, there are many competitive features available that can help you save money. Compare if the lender allows you to make additional repayments without penalty, if a free redraw is available, if a 100% offset account is available, if split loans are offered, if the lender provides packaged discounts, and if salary crediting is offered.

Applying for a home loan

At this stage different steps overlap somewhat. The purchase and settlement overlap with getting a home loan.

You can't apply for a home loan until you've found a house to buy and exchanged contracts.

But you can get pre-approval. This is where a lender gives you an indication of how much you can borrow. This gives you a good idea of your borrowing power. But the lender is under no obligation to offer you a home loan.

Once you're ready to buy you can submit a full home loan application. You'll need to provide ID to your lender plus documents that support your application (details of your income, debts and monthly spending).

6. Complete the purchase

Once you’ve completed your preliminary research, and organised your finance, you're ready to buy.

  • Make an offer (or bid). Houses in Australia are generally sold in two ways: via private treaty or auction. With a private treaty sale the property owner sets the sale price and the real estate agent negotiates with buyers to achieve the highest possible sales price. An auction involves multiple buyers bidding on the property at the same time.
  • Get inspections done. If you're buying by private treaty you can organise a building and pest inspection before settlement, and even make the contract "subject to building and pest inspection", which means the sale only goes through if the building is in good condition. If you're buying by auction you have to organise this before the auction (and hope you're the winner).
  • Engage a conveyancer. If you win at auction or your offer is accepted in a private treaty sale, the next step will be to exchange contracts and pay your deposit to the vendor. Make sure to have a conveyancer or solicitor inspect the contract of sale and handle settlement.

Expert tips: how to bid at auction

7. Prepare for settlement

Once contracts are exchanged, you'll be headed towards settlement day. Settlement is the process of paying the vendor and changing ownership of the home.

Your lender will disburse funds for your home loan and you'll receive your keys. You'll now need to sort out your home loan (if you haven't already started looking). And you'll need to make sure you have enough funds in your account to cover settlement, legal and conveyancing fees, as well as stamp duty.

8. Get ready to move in

Once the settlement is complete, the property is all yours.

Before making the transition, ensure that you're fully prepared to enjoy life in your new home from the moment you get the keys.

  • Sort through your belongings. Now is the time to ruthlessly cull anything you don't need or won't use.
  • Transfer accounts. Move all your services and utilities to your new address, and have your mail redirected.
  • Pack. It's a good idea to categorise your boxes by room for easy unpacking at your new residence.
  • Book removalists. It's wise to leave yourself a buffer of a few days between settlement day and your removalists coming. If you don't and run into any delays at settlement, it could add significant cost to your removalist bill.

Keep track of your move with our downloadable checklist

Frequently Asked Questions

John Pidgeon's headshot
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been reviewed by John Pidgeon, a member of Finder's Editorial Review Board.
Richard Whitten's headshot
Money Editor

Richard Whitten is Finder’s Money Editor, with over seven years of experience in home loans, property and personal finance. His insights appear in top media outlets like Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine, and the Herald Sun, and he frequently offers expert commentary on television and radio, helping Australians navigate mortgages and property ownership. Richard holds multiple industry certifications, including a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking (RG 206) and Tier 1 and Tier 2 certifications (RG 146), as well as a Graduate Certificate in Communications from Deakin University. See full bio

Richard's expertise
Richard has written 636 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Home loans
  • Property
  • Personal finance
  • Money-saving tips
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Co-written by

Personal finance expert + media spokesperson

With over 20 years of experience in property, finance and investment journalism, Sarah is a trusted expert whose insights regularly appear across television, radio, and print media, including Sunrise, ABC News, and Yahoo! Finance. She has previously served as managing editor for Your Investment Property and Australian Broker, and her expert advice has been shared over 2,500 times in 2023-2024 alone. Sarah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and a Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification, which complies with ASIC standards. See full bio

Sarah's expertise
Sarah has written 200 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Home loans
  • Personal finance
  • Budgeting and money-saving tips
  • Managing the cost of living

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10 Responses

    Default Gravatar
    SamSeptember 25, 2022

    Hi there,
    I have a fully paid off house (was my late uncles) that was gifted to me after his passing.
    There is nothing owing on the house and it is fully in my name as per the deeds.

    If i was to use the house as leverage to buy another place would the same methods for home loan lending still apply or is there another loan i need to take?

      AvatarFinder
      RebeccaSeptember 30, 2022Finder

      Hi Sam,

      If you plan to use your house’s equity to acquire a second home, there are several ways that you can finance it. This includes refinancing, taking out a line of credit, or using savings from an offset account as a deposit and taking out a new loan.

      The steps may slightly vary depending on the option you choose. You may visit Using your equity to buy a second home guide to learn more.

      You can also talk to a mortgage broker about your specific circumstances and they’ll be able to walk you through your options.

      All the best,
      Rebecca

    Default Gravatar
    DeborahMarch 11, 2019

    What lenders can I approach for a loan to purchase in an over 50s community? I have 50% of the home cost from the sale of my house.

      Default GravatarFinder
      JoshuaMarch 11, 2019Finder

      Hi Deborah,

      Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. 😃

      While I am unable to provide you a specific recommendation, you may refer to our list of the latest home loans. You can use our comparison table to compare offers based on the interest rate, fees, monthly repayment, to name a few. Once you are done comparing, click on the “Go to site” green button of your chosen lender. It should redirect you to the official website of the lender where you can get more information to start your online application.

      Moreover, you can also seek the help of mortgage brokers. They have the necessary knowledge and experience to help you explore your options.

      I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out again.

      Have a wonderful day!

      Cheers,
      Joshua

    Default Gravatar
    JasonJune 18, 2017

    My wife and I want to purchase a house. We currently have a mortgage in our current place. Ideally we only wanted to be in it for 2 years then buy a house. We currently have 7 investment properties. I was told due to APRA and it will be hard for us to get a house loan to purchase a house. Are there people that could help in our situation?

      Default Gravatar
      JonathanJune 18, 2017

      Hi Jason!

      Thanks for the comment.

      You can reach our to mortgage brokers for a personalized advice on this matter.

      Hope this helps.

      Cheers,
      Jonathan

    Default Gravatar
    peterDecember 1, 2014

    Just an enquiry just sold my flat for $337,500 and have already
    placed a deposit of $30,500 towards a property @ $467,000 which leaves $437,000, total fees upfront just on $30,000, I have $130,000 which will cover the costs and the difference between both places, i am waiting on my solicitor to finalise all paper work and settlement day, in this respect do i guess have to organise a bridging loan? uncertain as to how much?

      AvatarFinder
      ShirleyDecember 2, 2014Finder

      Hi Peter,

      Thanks for your question.

      It doesn’t sound like you need bridging finance as you have enough funds to cover the costs of moving from one property to the other.

      Bridging finance is useful if you have a cash flow problem during this period. However, it’s advisable that you speak to your current lender or agent to confirm if you’d need a bridging loan.

      All the best,
      Shirley

    Default Gravatar
    NikkiJune 26, 2014

    Do you have the trail commission percentages from the different banks when they pay the broker?

      AvatarFinder
      ShirleyJune 27, 2014Finder

      Hi Nikki,

      Thanks for your question.

      Unfortunately we don’t at this current point in time. However, you can find this information in the Credit Guides of the respective Mortgage Brokers.

      Cheers,
      Shirley

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  • Deceased estate sales

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  • Rent to buy schemes

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