What does a home loan calculator do in Australia?

Gaining finance for a new home can be one of life’s biggest hurdles, and the size of the Australian mortgage market can often add to the overwhelm. But with online tools such as RateCity’s series of home loan calculators, finding the right home loan for your needs can be simplified.

Before you get started on your home loan search, it’s important to understand what you’re looking for. A helpful first step is to calculate estimates of how much you can afford to borrow, the cost of your repayments, and the fees and charges associated with the loan.

While some banks offer their own home loan calculators, it’s worth noting that they may be based around their own loan products’ interest rates, fees, and other features. Non-bank calculators like RateCity’s allow you to input the details of each of your shortlisted home loan products across a wide range of lenders so you can make a comprehensive comparison and decide what might work best for you.

To help you on your way, here's a roundup of some of the calculators available at RateCity:

Borrowing Power Calculator

Factoring in details around your income and living expenses, our Borrowing Power Calculator estimates how much you could afford to borrow to buy a property. It includes a buffer of 15 per cent of your income to cover any unforeseen circumstances, and calculates your home loan repayments for a 30-year loan and an interest rate of 5.5 per cent – to account for rate fluctuations.

Home Loan Repayment Calculator

Our Home Loan Repayment Calculator estimates the total cost of loan repayments to work out how much you may pay on your mortgage. By selecting whether you are buying property as an owner occupier or investor, and entering the borrow amount, interest rate, repayment type, and deposit amount, you can calculate weekly, monthly or fortnightly repayments on any loan term up to 30 years. It can also estimate the total interest payable and the total cost of your loan repayments.

Entering different interest rates on the same borrow amount and loan term can give you an idea of how a difference in rates could affect your repayments and total amount payable over the life of the loan.

Stamp Duty Calculator

Saving for a home loan deposit is one thing, but ensuring you have enough stashed away for applicable government fees can be just as important. Our Stamp Duty Calculator can provide you with an estimate of your total government fees when buying a residential property, based on the information you input. The estimate includes stamp duty, mortgage registration and transfer fees, and can also determine and apply any concessions or exemptions you may be eligible for – such as for first home buyers.

Refinance Calculator

If you have an existing home loan and you’re weighing up your refinancing options, our Refinance Calculator could be a helpful place to start. Whether your refinancing priority is to save money, pay off your loan faster or make use of your equity, the calculator can provide you with a snapshot of what switching to a new loan could look like and might cost you.

LMI Calculator

If you’re looking to apply for a home loan but haven’t saved a deposit of at least 20 per cent, you may have to pay Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI). LMI can protect a home loan lender if a borrower defaults on their mortgage repayments, as the policy’s payout can help to offset potential financial losses. Typically, the lower your deposit and the larger your loan amount, the more LMI may cost.

Our LMI Calculator can help you determine an estimate of how much you may need to pay for LMI based on the property value and the loan amount you are interested in.

Compare home loans in Australia