What can I actually afford?
Plug in your situation. We’ll show how much you can borrow, the realistic price range, the all-in cash to get the keys, and the monthly repayment — all live, in one panel. General information, not advice.
The straight answer
The bank tests you at your rate plus 3%, and your deposit pays stamp duty, LMI and fees before a cent goes toward the house. That's why the realistic price is always lower than "loan plus deposit" — this panel shows you the honest number, live.
$700,000
The two numbers that decide it
Cash to get the keys
What it costs each month
The all-in cost, line by line
How we work this out (and where the numbers come from)
Borrowing power — the five-step bank test
Borrowing power mirrors a bank’s serviceability test:
- Estimate after-tax income FY2025-26 resident brackets + 2% Medicare levy; couples split evenly.
- Subtract living costs the higher of a sensible living-cost floor (indicative HEM) or your implied spending.
- Subtract repayments other repayments and ~3.8%/month of any card limit.
- Size the loan the largest loan that surplus services at your rate + the APRA 3.00% buffer over 30 years.
- Cap the headline at a debt-to-income ratio of 6.0, the level APRA scrutinises from Feb 2026.
Stamp duty, LMI and fees
- Stamp duty uses the FY2025-26 transfer-duty scales for each state/territory, plus first-home-buyer concessions where you qualify (full exemptions, tapers and caps differ by state).
- LMI (lenders mortgage insurance) applies when your deposit is under 20% — it’s an indicative premium that rises steeply as your deposit shrinks.
- Fees are approximate government title/registration charges plus a small conveyancing/inspection allowance.
Why the realistic price is lower than loan + deposit
Realistic price range is the most you can buy once stamp duty, LMI and fees are paid out of your deposit first — not just “loan + deposit”, which overstates what you can actually offer.
Planning estimate only — not a pre-approval or a quote. Real lenders, insurers and revenue offices will differ.
Your call
The max above assumes nothing goes wrong, and something always does — which is why a target a few percent under it is the number that survives a rate rise or a roof. If the panel shows five figures of LMI, there are two honest paths: paying it and buying sooner, or saving toward 20% while rent keeps the meter running — run the numbers both ways above and see which costs less in your case. And a real pre-approval is what turns any of this from theory into a figure a vendor takes seriously. Which trade you take is yours.
Assumptions & sources (as at FY2025-26, reviewed June 2026).
- Stamp-duty scales & first-home concessions: each state/territory revenue office.
- Serviceability: APRA 3.00% buffer (retained 2026) and DTI 6.0 scrutiny limit (live Feb 2026).
- Income tax: ATO FY2025-26 resident brackets + Medicare levy incl. the low-income taper (simplified — the tax estimate ignores tax offsets and private-health surcharge).
- Living costs: indicative HEM floor (single ~$1,600/mth, couple ~$2,600/mth, +$400/dependant) — each lender licenses its own table.
- LMI: indicative premiums by deposit size & loan amount (insurers’ actual premiums vary, can be capitalised onto the loan, and some lenders waive LMI for select professions).
- Government title/registration fees and a ~$2,500 conveyancing/inspection allowance are approximate.
General information only — not financial, tax or credit advice, and not a pre-approval. We never predict prices. Confirm every figure with your lender, a licensed broker and your state revenue office before acting.