For Australian first home buyers, saving up for a deposit is one of the biggest hurdles when getting into the property market. This is especially so now that a 20% deposit on a typical capital city home is well over $100,000.
But even though the odds may seem stacked against you, don’t give up your dreams of owning a new home just yet. Legitimate no (or low) deposit paths to homeownership do exist! So you might be able to start climbing the property ladder sooner than you think.
Keep reading to learn more about the pros and cons of these alternative paths to a home loan.
Quick summary
Want to see how long it will take you to save for your home deposit? Use the time to save calculator to compare how long it takes to save with different deposit options.
No deposit home loans
1. Guarantor home loan: A loved one offers home equity as a security for your loan.
2. Gifted deposit: A loved one provides the deposit as a gift.
3. Deposit boost with OwnHome: We cover the rest of your 20% deposit for a Low Deposit Premium of up to 2.2% of the purchase price (minimum $9,500), and you repay us over time while living in your dream home.
Low deposit home loan option
4. 5% deposit home loans: Find a lender that accepts smaller deposits.
Other ways to grow your house deposit
5. Use superannuation to pay for part of the deposit.
6. Utilise the First Home Owners Grant government program to pay for part of the deposit.
Guarantor home loan (or 105% guarantor home loan)
With guarantor home loans, it's possible to put up no deposit and have a guarantor pledge part of their home equity that's equivalent to a 20% deposit as security for your loan.
Alternatively, you can also put up a smaller deposit (typically a 5-10%). And the guarantor then "tops up" the rest of that deposit by pledging their home equity to meet the 20% criteria.
In either scenario, the guarantor will be liable for the guaranteed amount secured by their property if you default on (unable to pay) your monthly repayments.
Note that the guarantor is not lending or giving you any money. Their home equity is only at risk if you stop meeting your monthly repayments and the lender can't get the loan amount back from the sale of your home.
Example
You want to purchase a house worth $500,000. Typically, you'd need a deposit that's 20% of the property's value — $100,000 in this case.
With a guarantor home loan, your guarantor can pledge $100,000 of their home equity to cover the deposit.
Alternatively, you can also put up a 5% deposit ($25,000). But you still need an additional 15% ($75,000) to meet that 20% criteria. This sum will come from your guarantor by pledging $75,000 of their home equity to be used as the security on your loan.
How much can you borrow with a guarantor home loan?
The amount you will be able to borrow on a guarantor home loan will depend on your situation. Some lenders let you borrow up to 105% of the property’s value with a guarantor, to help cover costs.
What are the requirements of a guarantor home loan?
- Your guarantor must have enough equity in their property.
- Your guarantor typically needs to be a close family member.
- Lenders may assess your guarantor’s income or ability to service the guarantee (this varies by lender).
Do you pay lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) if you have a guarantor?
Lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) is a one-off insurance fee that needs to be paid by the borrower to protect the lender in case it cannot recover the loan amount. LMI is usually required if the borrower takes out a loan that's more than 80% of the property's value.
In most cases, you won't need to pay LMI when you have a guarantor for your home loan. This is due to the fact that your deposit, along with your guarantor's pledged home equity, will usually be equal to at least 20% of the property's value.
Are there other differences between a guarantor home loan and a regular home loan?
The features you get with a guarantor home loan are pretty much the same as a traditional home loan.
Depending on the lender, you may be able to negotiate fixed rate options where you lock in a set interest rate over a period of time. You might also be offered offset accounts and the option to make repayments early.
Gifted deposit
A loved one may also give you a one-time cash gift for the deposit on your property. But there are several steps in the application process you'll need to go through before being approved for a home loan.
For example, you might have to demonstrate that the money is a genuine gift. Some lenders may also want some evidence of the source of funds. This is to ensure that this money isn't borrowed (e.g. withdrawn from a credit card).
Many first home buyers get help from family, so lenders are familiar with assessing gifted deposits.
Do I need to show genuine savings?
Genuine savings is money you've personally saved up over time. Lenders usually want to see proof of genuine savings if you're borrowing more than 85-90% of the property value.
Because a gifted deposit is money that comes from someone else, lenders would still like to see proof of your own genuine savings. Genuine savings refers to money that you've managed to save up over a period of time and it shows lenders that you have good financial habits.
Most likely, they'll also assess your overall financial and credit history. This includes your credit score and whether you've paid personal loans or car loans on time. The overall purpose is to assess whether you have the financial discipline to meet loan repayments on time along with their other lending criteria.
Do I pay higher interest rates with a gifted deposit?
Most lenders will offer you competitive interest rates similar to what you'd get with a traditional home loan.
OwnHome Deposit Boost Loan
OwnHome is on a mission to remove the deposit hurdle from homeownership for Aussies. Your Deposit Boost Loan is paired with an 80% LVR home loan, and you own 100% of your home. Here's how it works:
How does OwnHome work?
OwnHome offers a deposit loan so that you can skip the renting and saving, and get into the market sooner. Here’s how it works:
You’re stuck renting but want to buy a home. You’ve worked hard and know that you could cover the mortgage payments on a place.
At the moment, you've only saved up $60,000 and in order to avoid paying lenders mortgage insurance (LMI), you need a 20% deposit ($180,000).
It will take you many more years to save up the rest of the deposit amount.
You're really keen on entering the housing market now as you're unsure what the housing market will be like in the long term. Instead of waiting years to reach the 20% deposit amount through saving and renting, you use an OwnHome Deposit Boost Loan.
With an OwnHome Deposit Boost Loan, you can borrow the full 20% deposit for a Low Deposit Premium of up to 2.2% of the purchase price (minimum $9,500), and with the help of our expert team of Buyer's Agents (included when you pay your Low Deposit Premium upfront), you can buy without saving the full 20% deposit.
Low deposit home loan options
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing when it comes to the deposit for your home loan. There are low deposit options where you might still get approved without having to save up for the full 20% deposit.
5% deposit home loans
Some lenders might consider granting home loans to first home buyers who've saved up less than the recommended 20% of the property's value. These are usually called 5-10% deposit home loans. Of course, because you're borrowing more from the lender, your overall cost of taking this loan is higher.
For example, you will need to pay lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) which can add tens of thousands of dollars depending on the value of your property.
Interest rates are also usually higher as the loan-to-value ratio (LVR) goes up with a smaller deposit. The LVR basically helps lenders assess the level of risk they're exposed to when approving your loan application. The higher the LVR, the higher risk the lender is taking.
Pros and cons of 5% deposit home loans
- Buy a house sooner
- Less money upfront
- You have to pay LMI
- Interest rates are usually higher
- Lenders may not be as keen to approve loans with smaller deposits
First home owner grant (FHOG)
The first home owner grant (FHOG) (sometimes referred to as the first home buyers grant (FHBG)) is a national scheme that rolled out in July 2000 to help Australians achieve their dreams of home ownership.
It's a one-time payment, generally for buying or building a new home, which can be used to pay part of your deposit. The amount depends on your state or territory, for example $10,000 in NSW, VIC and WA, $15,000 in SA, $20,000 in TAS and $30,000 in QLD. The ACT has no grant, and the NT offers a $50,000 HomeGrown Territory Grant for new homes.
Note that while this is a national scheme, it's funded by individual states and territories. This also means that the rules and eligibility criteria regarding the grant are different in each area.
But generally, the grant is only open to first-time home buyers and those intending to be owner occupiers. It does not apply to those looking to purchase an investment property.
First home super saver (FHSS) scheme
The government-initiated first home super saver (FHSS) scheme allows you to voluntarily contribute up to $15,000 to your super each financial year.
A maximum of $50,000 can be withdrawn from this contribution to pay for your first home deposit.
Note that the terms and eligibility criteria of this scheme can change and it’s best to consult the ATO for the latest updates.
Other costs to consider when buying a home
In addition to your deposit and monthly repayments, there are other “hidden” upfront costs you will need to budget for when buying a home.
Stamp duty (a tax charged by the government) is usually one of the heftier upfront costs. But as a first home buyer, you may pay no (or reduced) stamp duty, depending on your state and the value of your property.
Check out our stamp duty calculator to work out how much you could have to pay.
Other costs include legal, mortgage registration, and loan application fees — all of which can add up to several thousand dollars.
Summary
We've covered the top options for first home buyers looking to own a property with no (or low) deposit. If you don't want to involve loved ones in your loan or pay exorbitant LMI fees, then it's worth exploring a Deposit Boost Loan with OwnHome.
FAQs
In general, you’ll get low interest rates on low LVR loans. But, it really depends on the type of home loan you select, and the kinds of additional services you require (such as an offset, redraw, fixed or variable rate). But there are definitely instances where you could get competitive interest rates (like with guarantor home loans which you can learn more about here).
Yes, first home buyers can use superannuation to pay for some of the house deposit.
It comes under the first home super saver (FHSS) scheme.
The first home loan deposit scheme, now called the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, lets first home buyers buy a property with as little as a 5% deposit (no LMI needed).
What happens is that the government guarantees the remaining 15% of the usual 20% deposit that lenders need to be able to approve a loan without LMI. Since 1 October 2025, places are uncapped and there are no income caps, but property price caps apply.
