Home loan calculator

Reading your results like a lender does

• LVR (loan-to-value ratio): loan ÷ property value. Above 80%, most lenders charge Lenders Mortgage Insurance — often $10,000–$30,000 that protects them, not you — unless you qualify for the government's Home Guarantee Scheme (5% deposit, no LMI) or a family guarantee.
• Fortnightly trick: paying half the monthly amount fortnightly makes 26 half-payments — one extra month per year — shaving years off a 30-year loan.
• Offset vs extra repayments: mathematically similar; an offset account keeps the money accessible, extra repayments may need redraw. Either beats a savings account earning taxed interest at a lower rate than your mortgage charges.
• Serviceability buffer: banks assess you at the offered rate plus about 3% — which is why your borrowing power is less than the repayment you could technically afford today.
• Interest-only suits some investors (cash-flow and tax reasons); for owner-occupiers it mostly defers pain — the calculator shows the jump and the extra lifetime interest.

New to the whole process? Start with our first home buyer's guide to Australia — deposits, guarantees, stamp duty and the path from pre-approval to settlement. And check your borrowing budget against real take-home pay with the pay calculator.