The deposit is only one part of buying your first home. Before you make an offer, build a cash budget for the deposit, government charges, professional fees and a small buffer. That gives you a more realistic purchase range than looking at borrowing power alone.
Start with your purchase price and available cash
Write down two figures first: the price range you are considering and the savings you can use for the purchase. Keep an emergency buffer outside that amount where possible. Your available cash may need to cover more than the deposit, so putting every dollar toward the deposit can leave a purchase underfunded.
Use the Borrowing Power Calculator to estimate a loan range, then enter a property price and savings amount to see the indicative loan-to-value ratio, LMI estimate and transfer duty. It is a planning tool, not a loan approval.
Costs to include before making an offer
Your exact costs depend on the state or territory, lender, property and contract. A useful first pass includes:
- Deposit: the amount that becomes equity in the property.
- Transfer duty (often called stamp duty): rules, concessions and thresholds differ across Australia.
- Conveyancing or legal fees: for reviewing the contract and completing settlement work.
- Building, pest or strata reports: optional in some circumstances, but often useful before committing to a property.
- Registration, valuation and lender fees: some are government charges and some vary by lender or product.
- Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI): may apply when the loan is a high percentage of the property value.
- Moving, insurance and immediate repairs: costs that arrive just after settlement rather than on settlement day.
Why stamp duty needs its own line in the budget
Transfer duty can be one of the largest upfront costs after the deposit. First-home buyer concessions can reduce it, but they are conditional. Eligibility can depend on the property value, whether you will live in the home, the type of property, prior ownership and other state-specific rules.
Start with the stamp duty estimate in the Borrowing Power Calculator, select your state and buyer type, and only treat a concession as available after you have checked the current official state requirements. The calculator deliberately shows general duty where a concession needs more information than an online estimate can confirm.
A practical way to set a safer limit
Instead of asking, "What is the biggest home I can buy?", work backwards:
- Choose the cash buffer you do not want to spend.
- Reserve an estimate for duty and purchase costs.
- The remaining cash is the deposit you can use.
- Compare the resulting loan amount with a repayment you can live with at a higher interest rate.
For the repayment step, use the Repayment Estimator and try a few rates rather than relying on one headline rate. A home can be technically affordable on a lender's assessment while still making day-to-day life uncomfortably tight.
Schemes and grants: verify before relying on them
Government support can change and is not automatic. The national Home Guarantee Scheme and state or territory grants/concessions have their own rules, places, property-price caps and lender processes. Start with Housing Australia's buying-a-home information and the relevant state revenue office, then confirm details with a participating lender, broker or conveyancer before signing a contract.
Next steps
Work through the First Home Buyer Hub for a deposit guide, an LMI explainer and first-home buyer stamp-duty steps. Once you have a realistic cash budget, the calculator results become much more useful.