Average Australian first home buyer deposit statistics

A typical first home buyer's deposit is between 5% and 20% of the property's purchase price. If you bought an $800,000 house with a 20% deposit you would need to save $160,000 for the deposit and borrow the rest.

Saving this deposit is often the biggest challenge for first home buyers today.

The statistics on this page break down how much homebuyers need to save for deposits using ABS lending figures to work out average deposits. We have broken this down by state and territory.

What is the average house deposit by state?

• The average Australian first home buyer looking to buy with a 20% deposit today needs to save $126,872.
• A buyer in NSW needs to save $151,052. A buyer in Tasmania needs to save $101,852.

We analysed how much homebuyers need to save for a deposit in each state and territory by looking at the latest average loan sizes for Australian owner-occupiers (ABS figures).

Using these loan averages we were able to assume property prices and deposit sizes. This is based on the assumption of a 20% deposit.

Borrowers can get home loans with deposits as low as 5%. But this comes with additional costs such as lenders mortgage insurance (LMI).

What are the average repayments on a 30-year loan?

With the loan amounts and deposit figures above, we calculated the average borrower's monthly home loan repayments. To do this we used:

• A 6.00% interest rate (the RBA's latest average owner-occupier variable rate)
• A 30-year loan term (this is the standard Australian loan term)

The data clearly shows that homebuyers in NSW have the most expensive mortgage burdens. This is the inevitable result of higher property prices in that state (especially in Sydney), which in turn forces buyers to save bigger deposits and borrow more.

Interest rates started rising in May 2022. This has massively increased loan repayments:

• In April 2022 the average NSW homebuyer was making monthly repayments of $2,316. In October 2023 this had increased 56% to $3,622.
• Nationwide, loan repayments for first home buyers have jumped 61% over the same time.

How much does the average first home buyer borrow?

Another way to understand rising property prices and deposit sizes is to look at how much first home buyers borrow today.

Loans for first home buyers have increased dramatically across every state and territory in the last 2 decades.

What's the average property price based on the deposit amount?

Using loan averages and 20% deposits we can also determine average property prices. All figures in the chart below assume a 20% deposit.

Expert commentary

Compare first home buyer home loan options

If you're looking to enter the property market, you'll need to save a deposit and get a home loan. And luckily, you don't need to save a 20% deposit.

You can enter the market with a low deposit home loan if you're willing to borrow more and pay LMI.

And if you have parents who own a property and are willing to act as your guarantor, you can get a loan with a low deposit and skip the LMI premium.

There are also government schemes that let first home buyers purchase homes with deposits below 20% and no LMI.

Why you can trust Finder's home loan experts

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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Jason Loewenthal as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Richard Whitten

Editor

Richard Whitten is a money editor at Finder, and has been covering home loans, property and personal finance for 6+ years. He has written for Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine and Homely; and has appeared on various radio shows nationwide. He holds a Certificate IV in mortgage broking and finance (RG 206), a Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification and a Tier 2 General Advice Deposit Products (RG 146) certification. See full bio

Richard's expertise

Richard has written 529 Finder guides across topics including:

• Home loans
• Property
• Personal finance
• Money-saving tips

Co-written by

Joshua Godfrey

Insights analyst

Joshua Godfrey is an insights analyst for Finder. Josh examines the issues currently affecting Australians. He manages Finder's monthly Consumer Sentiment Tracker and quarterly reports. He has a Bachelor of Business and Diploma in Innovation from the University of Technology, Sydney where he studied finance and marketing. See full bio

Joshua's expertise

Joshua has written 20 Finder guides across topics including:

• Data and analytics
• Money trends