Calculators
Three numbers worth running early
These are arithmetic, not policy: they do not encode any threshold that could go stale, they run entirely in your browser, and every assumption behind a result is written next to it.
Quick numbers
Repayments, LVR and the stress test
- Monthly repayment
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- At +3% (stress test)
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- Loan-to-value ratio
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- Total interest over the term
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What this assumes
- Principal and interest, repaid monthly, at a rate that never changes.
- The stress figure adds three percentage points to your rate — lenders assess capacity above the actual rate, and it is worth seeing that number.
- Loan-to-value ratio uses the price you enter. A lender uses its own valuation, which can be lower.
- Excludes lenders mortgage insurance, transfer duty, fees, insurance, rates and strata levies.
An estimate for comparing scenarios, not a quote, an approval or financial advice. For a maintained official version see Moneysmart's mortgage calculator.
The cash you need that is not the deposit
The deposit is the number everybody plans for. These are the ones that arrive on top of it, and between them they routinely add several per cent of the purchase price.
- Transfer duty — set by your state or territory, banded by price, with first home concessions that differ everywhere. Usually the largest of these.
- Lenders mortgage insurance — applies below a 20% deposit unless a government guarantee covers you. Frequently capitalised into the loan, which means you pay interest on it.
- Conveyancing or solicitor fees — for contract review, searches and settlement.
- Building and pest inspection — per property inspected, not per purchase, so it can happen more than once.
- Loan establishment or settlement fees — varies by lender and by product.
- Government registration and transfer fees — separate from duty, set by the same revenue office.
- Moving, connections and immediate repairs — small individually, reliably underestimated together.
Each state publishes a duty calculator through its revenue office, and Moneysmart keeps a general list of upfront costs. Use those for the figures — they are maintained; a number typed onto this page would not be.
One thing the repayment figure hides
Extending a loan term lowers the monthly repayment and raises the total interest, often substantially. Run the calculator above twice — once at 25 years and once at 30 — and compare the total interest line rather than the monthly one. It is the clearest demonstration of why the term deserves a deliberate decision rather than a default.
General information about how the Australian home buying and lending process works. Thresholds, concessions and scheme eligibility are set by federal, state and territory agencies and change; each page links to the agency that sets the rule. Reviewed 17 August 2026.