How much deposit is required for my first home?
There is no single number, because "how much deposit" is a policy question before it is an arithmetic one. For a first home, a deposit of anywhere between 5% and 20% of the purchase price is the usual range, with the lower end generally resting on a government grant, a guarantee scheme or other assistance doing part of the work. The right figure for you depends less on a rule of thumb and more on which lender's policy fits your circumstances, and how the purchase is structured around the deposit you actually have.
The clean benchmark is 20%. A deposit of 20% of the property's value takes your loan to 80% of the value (an 80% LVR), and at that level you generally avoid Lenders Mortgage Insurance — the one-off cost a lender charges to protect itself when you borrow above its comfortable LVR. Crossing under 20% is not a barrier; it simply changes the cost and the lender shortlist, and that trade is worth weighing deliberately rather than treating LMI as a penalty to be avoided at all costs.
When you have less than 20%
A smaller deposit narrows the field, but it rarely closes it. Some lenders will lend up to 95% of the purchase price and then allow the cost of the Lenders Mortgage Insurance to be added on top, so the LMI is capitalised into the loan rather than paid in cash up front. That keeps the purchase within reach when the saved deposit is tight, at the cost of a larger loan and the LMI premium itself.
Which lenders entertain a 95% LVR, on what conduct, and how they price the LMI all differ — so this is precisely the band where the choice of lender carries the most weight.
Borrowing up to 100%
If you do not have a deposit, a purchase may still be possible at up to 100% of the price, generally in one of two ways:
- Family pledge (guarantor). A family member offers equity in their own property as additional security, which lifts the effective security position and can take the borrowing to 100% of your purchase price. It carries real obligations for the family member, so it should be structured carefully and with a clear exit — the goal is usually to release the guarantor once your own equity has grown.
- 100% house and land. In some cases a lender's policy allows borrowing up to 100% of the price of a brand-new home and land package, where the build and the lender's appetite line up.
Both routes are policy-dependent and not universally available, but they are real options worth mapping rather than assuming a no-deposit purchase is off the table.
A connected question is serviceability — whether you can comfortably service the repayments once a lender weighs your income, commitments and living costs. A deposit gets you in the door; serviceability is what carries the loan through assessment, and the two are best looked at together rather than in sequence.
If you are working out how much deposit your first purchase genuinely needs — and which lender's policy best fits the deposit you actually have — it is worth mapping properly before you commit to a property or a number. Book a strategy session and we will work through where you stand.
General information only — not personal financial product or credit advice. Lending is subject to each lender's policy, your full circumstances and responsible-lending assessment. AeFin is an Australian Credit Representative (CR 464548) of Finsure (ACL 384704).