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How is a 95% mortgage different to other home loans?
Most home loans require a 20% deposit (80% maximum loan-to-value ratio). But some products have a maximum insured loan-to-value ratio of 90 or even 95%. This means you can forget the 20% deposit and buy your property with a smaller deposit.
The 'insured' LVR means they'll lend 90% or 95% of the property value as long as you have lenders mortgage insurance (LMI).
There are few differences between an 80% mortgage and a 95% mortgage. It could be virtually the same product, even with the same interest rate.
So what's the catch?
There are 2 key differences:
Lenders mortgage insurance. If your deposit is under 20% lenders require you to pay an insurance premium which gives them added protection. Depending on your deposit size and property value, LMI can add thousands of dollars to your mortgage. Use Finder's LMI calculator to estimate your premium.
Stricter lending criteria. A lender will scrutinise your application more closely if your deposit is under 20%. You need to make sure all your mortgage documents and paperwork are in order to maximise your chance of success.
First home buyers opt for low deposits
According to Finder's First Home Buyers Report 2025, 70% of recent and prospective first home buyers have bought or will buy with less than a 20% deposit.
Using the table above you can sort through loans with 95% LVRs and read reviews of the various products and lenders. Look at the fees, flexibility and features the loans come with to get a better idea of which ones work for you.
Lenders will assess high LVR home loan applications much more stringently than those with lower LVRs.
Strengthen your application by:
Getting your bank statements, identification and other documents together.
Demonstrating that you have a long history of savings.
Checking your credit score before applying.
Reducing your spending as much as possible in the 6 months leading up to your application.
Most lenders require your deposit to be 'genuine savings'. This is often defined as money that's been sitting in your account for at least 6 months.
There may be ways around this though:
Parental guarantor. If your parents own a property they can use it as security to guarantee your mortgage. You have the option of saving 5% yourself and getting your parents to guarantee the other 15% of the deposit. This way you can avoid LMI. But some lenders will allow your guarantor to cover the full 20% of the deposit.
First home owners grant (FHOG). If you're eligible for a first home owners grant this can form part of your deposit, making it even easier to get to 5%.
Selling shares or other assets. You can sell off an investment and use the cash as a deposit but you may still need to satisfy the genuine savings rule.
Cash gift or inheritance. If you're fortunate enough to receive a cash gift or inheritance you could use this as your deposit but again, watch out for the genuine savings rule. Some lenders may accept a 10% deposit made of a gift or inheritance, but you need to do your research.
"Make sure that you really look at the credit policy and the criteria to qualify for a 95% loan.
Some banks will look more strictly at a 95% loan-to-value ratio, given that it's aimed at a higher risk loan.
95% LVR loans are absolutely worth it. If you're buying your own home it means you probably stop renting, you're able to get into the market and able to put down roots. I think there's so much to be said for that because as you continue to save, the property market continues to increase in value.
Yes, you pay LMI. Some banks will charge a higher rate based on the fact that it's 95%. Some banks won't. You may consider a fixed rate loan, for example, to keep your payments at a decent interest rate."
Aside from LMI costs and more scrutiny from lenders, getting a mortgage with a 5% deposit means you're borrowing more money and therefore paying more interest. It means your repayments will be higher than if you had a higher deposit. This is why banks assess these applications so much more diligently, because the risk of you being unable to repay is higher,
It also means having less equity in your property, which is potentially risky if your property falls in value and you can't repay your mortgage.
Let's look at both situations.
A smaller deposit means paying more in interest
Getting a loan with such a small deposit inevitably means paying more in interest over time. To get a clearer idea of the difference in interest costs, use our loan repayment calculator and enter your borrowing details. Use the same interest rate and loan term but try entering different loan amounts. The difference in interest you'll pay over the life of the loan can be significant. Here's an example:
Property cost: $600,000
20% deposit = $120,000 (loan amount of $480,000)
Interest rate: 5.50%
Loan term: 30 years
Monthly repayments: $2,726
Total interest payable: $501,140
Property cost: $600,000
5% deposit = $30,000 (loan amount of $570,000)
Interest rate: 5.50%
Loan term: 30 years
Monthly repayments: $3,237
Total interest payable: $595,104
The risk of negative equity
Equity refers to the amount of your property that you actually own. In other words, the value of the property minus the mortgage debt. If you buy a home with a 20% deposit you have 20% equity at the start. As you repay the loan principal (the money you borrowed), your equity increases.
But if property prices fall (as they sometimes do) your equity will decrease. If you'd paid off half your mortgage then you're still in a decent position. But if you've just bought a property with only a 5% deposit then even a small price fall could see you end up in negative equity. Having negative equity makes it much harder to sell your property or refinance your mortgage.
As long as you keep making repayments on the mortgage principal your equity should increase in the long term.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many Australian banks and lenders offer 95% LVR home loans, including major banks like ANZ, CBA, and NAB. However, strict eligibility criteria apply and the amount of LMI payable to secure one of these loans is very high.
LVR stands for Loan-to-Value Ratio. A 95% LVR means the loan amount is 95% of the property's value, and the borrower needs just 5% as a deposit. For instance, on an $800,000 loan, a 95% LVR is a $40,000 deposit and $760,000 loan.
Yes, it is possible to buy a house in Australia with a 5% deposit with a 95% home loan, where the lender finances the remaining 95% of the property value. However, these loans typically require you to pay Lender's Mortgage Insurance (LMI) unless you qualify for a government scheme, like the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.
In Australia, the highest percent mortgage you can typically get is 95% LVR, meaning you need a minimum 5% deposit. Some lenders may offer 100% loans under specific conditions, such as having a guarantor.
Yes, it is possible to buy an investment property with a 5% deposit. Your elgiibilty depends on your personal income and debts, and the type and price of the property.
The Finder Score crunches 7,000 home loans across 120+ lenders. It takes into account the product's interest rate, fees and features, as well as the type of loan eg investor, variable, fixed rate - this gives you a simple score out of 10.
To provide a Score, we compare like-for-like loans. So if you're comparing the best home loans for cashback, you can see how each home loan stacks up against other home loans with the same borrower type, rate type and repayment type. We also take into consideration the amount of cashback offered when calculating the Score so you can tell if it's really worth it.
Richard Whitten is Finder’s Senior Money Editor, with over eight years of experience in home loans, property, credit cards 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 started his career in education and textbook publishing in South Korea. He 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 Bachelor of Education from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Communications from Deakin University.
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