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You might be closer to buying a house than you think
Housing affordability is one of the key issues of this election, yet it’s actually becoming easier to enter the property market in much of Australia.
Of course, ‘easier’ doesn’t mean ‘easy’. It’s still tough to save a deposit.
But as new statistics from Domain show, house prices fell in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra during the year to March.
If you live in those cities, and you want to enter the market with just a 5 per cent deposit, home ownership might be closer than you think.
A lot of borrowers don’t realise it’s possible to buy a home with such a small deposit – yet there are actually more than 75 lenders that allow home buyers to borrow up to 95 per cent of the value of their property, according to a RateCity comparison search.
Who offers 95% mortgages?
Australia’s 10 biggest home loan lenders allow borrowers to take out mortgages with as little as a 5% deposit. They are Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, NAB, ANZ, ING, Suncorp Bank, Bendigo & Adelaide Bank, Macquarie Bank, Bank of Queensland and ME Bank.
How much of a deposit you need in each capital city
Here’s how much you’d need to save if you wanted to put down a 5 per cent deposit and buy a house valued at your capital city’s median price:
| City | Median house price | Prices trending… | 5% deposit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | $1,027,962 | Down | $51,398 |
| Melbourne | $809,468 | Down | $40,473 |
| Brisbane | $563,666 | Down | $28,183 |
| Perth | $529,997 | Down | $26,500 |
| Adelaide | $542,474 | Up | $27,124 |
| Hobart | $478,247 | Up | $23,912 |
| Canberra | $722,440 | Down | $36,122 |
| Darwin | $514,546 | Up | $25,727 |
Which other banks offer 95% home loans?
A wide range of other banks offer 95% mortgages, including Auswide Bank, Bank Australia, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA, Bankwest, Gateway Bank, Greater Bank, Heritage Bank, IMB Bank, MyState Bank, P&N Bank, Qudos Bank, St George Bank, Regional Australia Bank and Teachers Mutual Bank.
Here’s how much you’d need to save if you wanted to put down a 5 per cent deposit and buy a unit valued at your capital city’s median price:
| City | Median unit price | Prices trending… | 5% deposit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | $696,935 | Down | $34,847 |
| Melbourne | $466,892 | Down | $23,345 |
| Brisbane | $372,852 | Down | $18,643 |
| Perth | $347,596 | Down | $17,380 |
| Adelaide | $312,459 | Down | $15,623 |
| Hobart | $363,418 | Up | $18,171 |
| Canberra | $426,719 | Down | $21,336 |
| Darwin | $313,462 | Down | $15,673 |
Which credit unions allow 5% deposits?
Various credit unions allow 5% deposits, including BCU, Community First Credit Union, Credit Union SA, CUA, Family First Credit Union, Horizon Credit Union, Illawarra Credit Union, Macquarie Credit Union, Northern Inland Credit Union, People’s Choice Credit Union, Queenslander Country Credit Union, Queenslanders Credit Union, Southern Cross Credit Union, Summerland Credit Union and Transport Mutual Credit Union.
But wait, there’s more (costs)
If you think that buying a property with just a 5 per cent deposit seems too good to be true – well, it kind of is.
That’s because you’ll have to pay some other costs as well.
First, your lender will almost certainly make you pay lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI), which usually applies when your deposit is less than 20 per cent. LMI is an insurance policy designed to protect the lender (not the borrower) in case the borrower defaults on the mortgage. If you’re a first home buyer, and you put down a 5 per cent deposit on a $500,000 property, you’ll have to pay an estimated $15,960 in LMI, according to Genworth.
Second, you might have to pay stamp duty. This is a state tax, so it varies from state to state. For example, a first home buyer who purchases a $500,000 house would be exempt from stamp duty in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, but would have to pay $21,330 in South Australia.
Third, you’ll have to pay for conveyancing, which will set you back about $1,500.
Finally, you might choose to get a building and pest report, which would cost about $1,000.
Which non-bank lenders allow 95% LVR home loans?
You can also get mortgages with a loan-to-value ratio of 95 per cent through non-bank lenders such as AFM, Aussie, Australian Financial, Freedom Lend, iMortgage, Kogan Money, Liberty, Mortgage House, Pepper Money, RAMS, Resi, Resimac, State Custodians, Virgin Money and Yellow Brick Road.
Disclaimer
This article is over two years old, last updated on April 30, 2019. While RateCity makes best efforts to update every important article regularly, the information in this piece may not be as relevant as it once was. Alternatively, please consider checking recent home loans articles.
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Product database updated 25 Nov, 2024
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