What Will It REALLY Cost to Buy?
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Every state and territory charges transfer duty differently. Until you pick one, the stamp duty shown uses New South Wales rates.
We only hold local council, water and insurance figures for a handful of Sydney postcodes. For anywhere else, those three lines are placeholder estimates, not your area's real costs. Your council, water provider and insurer can give you the actual numbers.
Settlement costs breakdown
Monthly costs breakdown
Rate sources
Sources will appear here based on your postcode.
How we calculate your costs
We use real, sourced data — not rough estimates. Your postcode unlocks local council rates, water provider charges, and insurance zone data. Stamp duty is calculated using the exact NSW Revenue brackets — if that's the only number you're after, our dedicated NSW stamp duty calculator works it out on its own. LMI uses industry-standard rate tables. Every number is transparent and editable.
What it costs in practice: six worked examples
Six realistic NSW purchases, all worked out at a 6.5% interest rate over 30 years with $2,000 conveyancing and $800 in government fees. Council rates, water and insurance come from our data files for each local government area. Every figure is calculated at build time by the same code that runs the calculator above, so this table and the tool cannot disagree.
| Scenario | Price | Deposit | Stamp duty | LMI | Cash at settlement | Mortgage / month | Other costs / month | Total / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First home buyer, Blacktown house, 10% deposit | $850,000 | $85,000 | $8,109 | $14,153 | $110,062 | $4,835 | $400 | $5,235 |
| First home buyer, Penrith house, 20% deposit | $750,000 | $150,000 | $0 | — | $152,800 | $3,792 | $425 | $4,217 |
| First home buyer, Parramatta unit, 10% deposit | $780,000 | $78,000 | $0 | $12,987 | $93,787 | $4,437 | $596 | $5,033 |
| Owner-occupier, Waverley unit, 15% deposit | $950,000 | $142,500 | $36,937 | $7,752 | $189,989 | $5,104 | $717 | $5,821 |
| Investor, Willoughby unit, 20% deposit | $900,000 | $180,000 | $34,687 | — | $217,487 | $4,551 | $675 | $5,226 |
| Upgrader, Parramatta house, 20% deposit | $1,100,000 | $220,000 | $43,687 | — | $266,487 | $5,562 | $379 | $5,941 |
Show your working — the first row in full
Price $850,000, first home buyer, $85,000 deposit (10%).
- Stamp duty: $8,109 — the sliding concession, worked through on our NSW stamp duty calculator.
- Loan: $850,000 − $85,000 = $765,000. LVR = 90%.
- LMI: an LVR of 90% falls in the 85.01–90% tier at 1.85% of the loan. $765,000 × 0.0185 = $14,153.
- Cash needed at settlement: $85,000 + $8,109 + $14,153 + $2,000 + $800 = $110,062. That is $25,062 more than the deposit alone — the number this calculator exists to surface.
- Mortgage: $765,000 over 30 years at 6.5% = $4,835 a month.
- Other monthly costs: council rates $1,900 ÷ 12 = $158.33, water $1,100 ÷ 12 = $91.67, insurance $1,800 ÷ 12 = $150.00, no strata. Total $400.
- Total monthly: $4,835 + $400 = $5,235.
Compare the two first home buyer house rows. The Penrith buyer pays $750,000 with a 20% deposit and needs $152,800 on the day. The Blacktown buyer pays $850,000 with a 10% deposit and needs $110,062 — less cash, but $14,153 of it is LMI, a premium that insures the lender rather than the buyer, and the monthly repayment is $1,043 higher. Neither is wrong; the trade-off is the point.
How the numbers are worked out
stamp duty = the first home buyer concession if eligible, otherwise the standard schedule
loan = price − deposit
LVR = loan ÷ price × 100
LMI = nil at an LVR of 80% or under, otherwise loan × the rate for that LVR tier
monthly repayment = loan × r(1+r)^n ÷ ((1+r)^n − 1), r = annual rate ÷ 12, n = years × 12
cash at settlement = deposit + stamp duty + LMI + conveyancing + government fees
monthly total = mortgage + (council rates + water + insurance + strata) ÷ 12LMI tiers
| LVR | Premium |
|---|---|
| Up to 80% | Nil |
| 80.01% – 85% | 0.96% of the loan |
| 85.01% – 90% | 1.85% of the loan |
| 90.01% – 95% | 3.1% of the loan |
Assumptions — and where they are weakest
- Principal and interest over the full term, with no offset account, no redraw and no rate change. A 30-year fixed view of a variable-rate world.
- The deposit is cash you already hold. Stamp duty, LMI and fees are on top of it.
- LMI is charged at settlement in these figures. Many lenders capitalise it into the loan instead, which lowers the cash needed on the day and raises the repayment.
- The LMI rates are industry-average estimates, not a quote. Your actual premium depends on the lender, the insurer and your circumstances.
- Council rates, water and insurance are averages, not your bill. Council rates are average annual figures per local government area. Water is a Sydney Water estimate based on roughly 200 kL a year. Insurance is a standard-risk zone figure.
- Conveyancing and government fees are defaults you can change in the calculator above.
- Stamp duty is worked out for every state and territory, each on its own sourced schedule, including the owner-occupier and first home buyer concessions that turn on the price. Where the answer depends on something the calculator doesn't ask — like whether a home is brand new — it says so beside the figure. See which schedules we publish in full.
- No ongoing land tax, no body corporate special levies, no maintenance allowance.
- An estimate for planning, not a lending decision and not a quote.
Sources
Each row below is dated from the data file that supplies it, exactly as recorded. Where a check is older than the others, the table says so rather than rounding the date forward.
| Figure | Source | Last checked |
|---|---|---|
| NSW transfer duty and first home buyer thresholds | Revenue NSW — Transfer duty | 14 July 2026 |
| Lenders Mortgage Insurance tiers | Industry average estimates (Genworth/QBE published rate cards) — estimates, not a quote | 23 April 2026 |
| Council rates by local government area | yourcouncil.nsw.gov.au + individual council websites | 23 April 2026 |
| Water charges | Sydney Water — usage charges | 23 April 2026 |
| Building and contents insurance | Insurance Council of Australia / NRMA public data — standard risk zones, not a quote | 23 April 2026 |
Popular suburbs
Common questions
How much cash do I actually need to buy?
More than the deposit. On the $850,000 first-home purchase in the table above, the deposit is $85,000 but the cash needed at settlement is $110,062 once stamp duty, LMI, conveyancing and government fees are counted. That gap is what this calculator exists to show.
What is LMI, and can I avoid it?
Lenders Mortgage Insurance protects the lender, not you, when your deposit is under 20%. You avoid it with a 20% deposit, a guarantor, or an eligible government guarantee scheme. On a $765,000 loan at 90% LVR it works out at about $14,153.
Can LMI be added to my loan?
Most lenders will capitalise it, which reduces the cash you need on settlement day and increases your repayments. These figures treat it as a settlement-day cost, which is the more conservative view.
Are the council rates and water figures my actual bill?
No. They're averages for the local government area, and your bill depends on your property's land value and your household's water use. Treat them as a planning figure, not a quote.
Does this include land tax?
No. Owner-occupied homes are generally exempt from NSW land tax; investment properties may not be. Check with Revenue NSW.
Why is the monthly total so much more than the mortgage?
Because a mortgage isn't the cost of owning a home. On the Waverley unit in the table above, council rates, water, insurance and strata add $717 a month on top of the $5,104 repayment.
What interest rate should I use?
The rate in the calculator is a planning figure, not a rate you've been offered. Change it to the rate your lender has actually quoted, and try it a percentage point higher to see what a rate rise would do.
