To buy a property with a % deposit you'd need to save and borrow . Your LVR would be .
Don't forget about other upfront property buying costs like stamp duty and lenders mortgage insurance. Check out our top savings accounts to get the best return on your money!
Don't forget about other upfront property buying costs like stamp duty and lenders mortgage insurance. Check out our top savings accounts to get the best return on your money!
Our house deposit calculator has 2 modes: required deposit and current deposit saved.
Select required deposit if you have a rough idea of your property's value and just want a simple way to work out what a 5%, 10% or 20% deposit looks like.
Select current deposit saved if you've already saved some money and want to work out how much more you'll need.
You need a deposit worth at least 5% of a property's value to get a loan. But there are other upfront costs too, including stamp duty and legal fees.
And if your deposit is under 20%, you'll also have to pay a lenders mortgage insurance premium (LMI).
| House price | 5% deposit (95% loan) | 10% deposit (90% loan) | 20% deposit (80% loan) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $650,000 | $32,500 | $65,000 | $130,000 |
| $850,000 | $42,500 | $85,000 | $170,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 | $200,000 |
| LMI required? | Yes | Yes | No |
The standard Australian deposit size is 20% of the property's value. But you can get a home loan with a deposit as low as 10% or 5% if you're willing to pay LMI.
Here's an example:
You want to buy an $800,000 property and you have a 10% deposit saved up plus a bit more for other expenses.
You can use the calculator above to quickly calculate your deposit. But if you're a bit confused about how to start, there are 2 ways to figure out roughly what your deposit should be.
Many buyers start by working out a rough budget for their property. That is, what's the maximum you can afford to spend on a property?
Here's an example. We've excluded stamp duty and other costs for now.
| Property value | Deposit (%) | Deposit amount |
|---|---|---|
| $800,000 | 20% | $160,000 |
| $800,000 | 10% | $80,000 |
| $800,000 | 5% | $40,000 |
With these estimates you can now look at borrowing amounts and loan repayments. Here, we're assuming a standard 30-year loan term:
| Deposit amount ($) | Interest rate (%) | Loan amount | Monthly repayments |
|---|---|---|---|
| $160,000 | 4.90% | $640,000 | $3,397 |
| $80,000 | 4.90% | $720,000 | $3,822 |
| $40,000 | 4.90% | $760,000 | $4,034 |
These figures don't take into account stamp duty or LMI.
If you have a good idea of how much you can save for a deposit, then you can use that to calculate the price of the property.
Let's say you've saved $30,000 and think you can save another $20,000 by the time you're planning to buy. Your deposit is $50,000.
📌 Multiply this by 5 to work out your budget with a 20% deposit. That's $250,000.
📌 Multiply this by 10 to work out your budget with a 10% deposit. That's $500,000.
📌 Multiply this by 20 to work out your budget with a 5% deposit. That's $1,000,000.
This also doesn't take into account stamp duty or LMI. And if you bought a $1 million property with just a 5% deposit you'd have to pay around $43,000 in LMI.
Saving a 20% deposit is a tall order for many first home buyers. Here are some tips to get there and some ways to buy with a smaller deposit:
The extra cost of lenders mortgage insurance varies depending on your property's value and the amount you've saved. Finder has a handy LMI calculator which lets you estimate the LMI payable on different transactions.
Here are a few example calculations (keep in mind these are only estimates and may not reflect the figure you will be liable to pay):
| House price | 5% deposit | LMI estimate |
|---|---|---|
| $450,000 | $22,500 | $14,300 |
| $650,000 | $32,500 | $28,485 |
| $850,000 | $42,500 | $37,169 |
Need help saving for a deposit? Check out our detailed guide
If you're a first home buyer who is eligible for one of the Home Guarantee Schemes, then you could buy a property with just a 5% deposit and skip LMI.
You can also avoid LMI with a guarantor. If someone guarantees your home loan, you can borrow 95% of a property's value and get LMI waived.
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The larger your deposit, the better your chances of getting your home loan approved.
Deposit bonds benefit purchasers who do not have readily available access to a cash deposit or would prefer not to use their own cash.
If you're a single parent buying a home, you may be able to use Centrelink payments to supplement your income.
Getting a home loan deposit from family as a gift? Cash gifts can help you get on the property ladder, but you need some genuine savings, too.