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If you are asking how much deposit you need to buy a house in Australia, the short version is that most lenders want at least 5 per cent of the purchase price, but a deposit of 20 per cent or more gets you the cheapest and simplest loan. The right figure for you sits somewhere between those two, and it depends on lender mortgage insurance, the scheme you may qualify for, and the other costs that arrive on top of the deposit itself.
Quick answer: You generally need a minimum 5% deposit, plus roughly 3 to 5% of the price for stamp duty, legal and other upfront costs. Put down less than 20% and most lenders charge lender mortgage insurance (LMI), unless you use a government guarantee such as the 5% Deposit Scheme or qualify for a professional LMI waiver. A 20% deposit avoids LMI and usually unlocks sharper rates.
Lenders think in terms of loan to value ratio, or LVR: the loan as a percentage of the property's value. A 5 per cent deposit means a 95 per cent LVR. Three thresholds matter in practice.
This is the practical floor for most borrowers. Lenders will usually want to see that the 5 per cent is genuine savings, meaning money you have built up in your own name over a period, commonly around three months, rather than a recent one-off lump sum. Some lenders accept gifted funds as part of the deposit, but policies differ, so it is worth checking before you rely on a gift.
At 90 per cent LVR you still pay LMI at most lenders, but the premium is noticeably lower than at 95 per cent, and a wider range of lenders and products are available to you.
At 80 per cent LVR or below, lenders do not normally charge LMI, and you typically gain access to their best pricing. This is the benchmark most people mean when they say "a full deposit".
The table below is illustrative only. It assumes a $750,000 purchase, a 30 year principal and interest loan and an interest rate of 6.30 per cent. It leaves out LMI, which would add to the loan at the lower deposit levels, so the real repayment at 5 and 10 per cent could be higher.
| Deposit | Deposit amount | Loan amount | Approx. monthly repayment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% | $37,500 | $712,500 | $4,410 |
| 10% | $75,000 | $675,000 | $4,178 |
| 20% | $150,000 | $600,000 | $3,714 |
Moving from a 5 to a 20 per cent deposit lowers the monthly repayment by about $696 in this example, and that is before the LMI saving. The trade-off is time. Saving an extra $112,500 can take years, and in a rising market the property may move further away while you wait. That is why many buyers choose to enter earlier with a smaller deposit and pay LMI or use a scheme, rather than waiting for 20 per cent.
LMI protects the lender, not you, if the loan defaults. It is charged as a one-off premium that depends on your LVR, the loan size and the insurer, and it can usually be added to the loan rather than paid upfront. We have a full breakdown of how the premium is worked out in our guide to how LMI is calculated, but the main points are these:
The federal Home Guarantee Scheme, delivered by Housing Australia, lets eligible first home buyers purchase with as little as a 5 per cent deposit without paying LMI, because the government guarantees part of the loan to the lender. Since the scheme expanded on 1 October 2025, the income caps and the annual cap on places have been removed, which opened it to far more buyers.
Two things still apply. You must meet the eligibility rules, and the property price must sit at or below the cap for the area. Those caps differ by state and region: at the start of the expanded scheme, for example, the caps for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were $1.5 million, $950,000 and $1 million respectively, with lower figures for regional areas. Caps can be revised, so always check the current table on the Housing Australia website against your exact suburb before you make an offer.
States and territories add their own help, such as stamp duty concessions and grants, and these vary widely. Our guide to first home buyer grants in NSW covers one state in detail, and your state revenue office is the authority for the others: Revenue NSW, the State Revenue Office Victoria, Queensland Revenue Office, RevenueWA, RevenueSA, the Tasmanian State Revenue Office, the ACT Revenue Office and Territory Revenue Office in the Northern Territory.
Check before you commit: scheme rules, price caps and state concessions change. Confirm the current settings with Housing Australia and your state revenue office, and have your broker confirm that the lender you choose participates in the scheme.
Many buyers save the deposit and are then caught out by the extras. As a rough planning range, upfront costs commonly add 3 to 5 per cent of the purchase price, though the real figure depends heavily on your state and whether you receive concessions. A checklist to budget against:
No. The deposit decides how much of the price you must fund yourself, but your borrowing capacity decides how much the lender will actually let you borrow. Income, existing debts, HECS or HELP balances, dependants and living expenses all feed into that. Lenders also test your repayments against a buffer above the actual rate, set by the prudential regulator, APRA, so you need to pass the test at a higher rate than the one you will pay. A large deposit does not rescue a loan that fails serviceability.
It also pays to think about where the deposit sits while you build it. A mortgage offset account reduces the interest you pay while keeping the cash accessible, and you can test how that plays out with our offset calculator. If you are still working out what you can afford, the Mankin Finance tools page has calculators for the main questions, and the rate check shows how your current or planned loan compares.
Michael and the team at Mankin Finance work through exactly these trade-offs with buyers across the country, comparing the cost of waiting to build a larger deposit against buying sooner with LMI, a waiver or a scheme. The numbers often point to a different answer from the one people expect.
Tell us your deposit, income and goals and we will show you the loan options and the real upfront cost.
Yes. Many lenders accept a 5 per cent deposit, though you will usually pay lender mortgage insurance unless you qualify for the federal 5% Deposit Scheme, a guarantor arrangement or a professional LMI waiver. You will also need enough extra savings to cover stamp duty and other upfront costs.
No. A 20 per cent deposit avoids LMI and generally unlocks better rates, but it is not required. Many buyers purchase with 5 to 10 per cent down and weigh the cost of LMI against the cost of waiting and saving for longer.
A 5 per cent deposit is $30,000, 10 per cent is $60,000 and 20 per cent is $120,000. On top of that, budget roughly 3 to 5 per cent of the price, or about $18,000 to $30,000, for stamp duty and other costs, noting that first home buyer concessions can reduce this significantly in some states.
Gifted money is accepted by some lenders as part of the deposit, but many want a portion in genuine savings, so policies vary. Superannuation cannot generally be withdrawn for a deposit, though eligible first home buyers can use the First Home Super Saver Scheme to release voluntary contributions, subject to ATO rules and limits.
No. Stamp duty is a separate government charge paid at settlement on top of your deposit. The amount depends on the state or territory, the purchase price and whether you qualify for a first home buyer exemption or concession.
Disclaimer: This article is general information only and does not constitute financial, mortgage, or credit advice. The examples are illustrative, use stated assumptions and do not account for your individual circumstances, LMI, fees or lender policy. Scheme rules, price caps and state concessions change, so confirm current details with Housing Australia and your state revenue office. Before making any decisions, you should speak with a qualified mortgage broker or financial adviser who can assess your situation. Mankin Finance Pty Ltd holds Australian Credit Licence 389087.
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