How to buy a house in Australia: a “2025” guide

How do I buy a house in Australia?

1. 1. Assess your circumstances
   2. Work out how much you can borrow
   3. Compare home loans
   4. Research the property market
   5. Pick the property right for you
   6. Complete the purchase
   7. Apply for a home loan
   8. Get ready to move in

• TL;DR - House buying checklist

  When buying a house, you'll look at a variety of different homes, and it can be tough to keep straight in your head which properties made what impression. That's why we've created a home buying checklist.

  You can print copies of the checklist from the link below, and take it with you to inspections.

  Download our home buying checklist

  1. Preparation

  • Do you have a sufficient deposit saved?
  • Have you researched suburbs and properties?
  • Have you budgeted for repayments, including a buffer in case interest rates should rise?
  • Have you compared home loan products and providers?
  • Have you gotten home loan pre-approval?

  Finder survey: How many Australians think home ownership is an important part of the Australian way of life?

  Response
  Yes	94.51%
  No	5.49%

  Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1112 Australians, December 2023

  2. Location

  • Is it close to infrastructure such as train stations or bus stops?
  • Is it close to hospitals and schools?
  • Is the neighbourhood safe?
  • Is it reasonably quiet?
  • Is it flood or bushfire prone?
  • What are the local council regulations around renovations or extensions?

  3. Exterior

  • Is the exterior of the house in good condition, free from cracks or defects?
  • Is the roof in good condition?
  • Are the windows and doors in good condition?
  • Are the gutters and downpipes in good condition?
  • Is the property connected to electricity and sewer?
  • Does the land provide sufficient space for additions?
  • Is the property fenced, and is the fencing in good condition?

  4. Interior

  • Are the walls in good condition, free from holes or cracks?
  • Is there any sign of mould or damp?
  • Are the floors level and undamaged?
  • Are there sufficient power points?
  • Is all plumbing in good working order?
  • What appliances and furnishings are included in the contract, and are they in working order?
  • Are there telephone, cable and/or Internet connections?

  5. Contract and title

  • Is the title free from encumbrances?
  • Does the contract contain any special conditions?
  • Does the vendor accept a deposit bond?
  • What happens in the case of a delayed settlement?

  Need more help? Check out these helpful guides and videos

  • In-depth home buying guide
  • Your guide to first home owners grants
  • Stamp duty explained
  • Your home buying questions answered
  • Home loan comparison guide

Assess your circumstances

Your job security, number of dependents (if any) and lifestyle habits will influence how much you can borrow and the type of property you can afford. Here are some key points to think about when deciding if you're ready to buy a home.

Job security

Most lenders want borrowers who have employed in the same job for at least 12 months. This demonstrates that you have a stable source of income to service your mortgage repayments and are a lower lower risk to the lender.

Your profession

Depending on your occupation, some lenders may offer professional package home loans.

If you are a doctor or an accountant, a lender may waive lender's mortgage insurance (LMI) as you are perceived as a low risk borrower due to your high earning potential.

Your income

If you're a low-income earner or you're receiving Centrelink benefits, it may be more difficult to qualify for a home loan.

Family plans

Each dependent you have can lower the amount you can borrow. This is because lenders will request that you factor in costs such as childcare, education fees and unexpected medical expenses.

There are also options if you are applying for a home loan while on maternity leave or as a single parent.

Work out how much you can borrow

How much you can borrow for your home loan really depends on your individual circumstances. But it is definitely worth estimating your borrowing power before you start to search for properties.

Research the property market

How your property location fits into your lifestyle is one of the most important decisions you'll make in the home buying process. It's a matter of balancing your priorities and finding a suitable location that will match your needs and financial situation.

You need to carefully consider the geographic location of your property and how this will satisfy your lifestyle needs, particularly if you intend to stay there for an extended period of time.

You may also find that building your home may be a worthwhile option. If this is a consideration you should keep in mind suburbs with potential for future growth.

Learn how to research suburbs

Pick the right property for you

After fine-tuning different locations for your future home, you now need to research different properties that are listed on the market within these suburbs.

Here are some things to keep top of mind when deciding on property type.

Structural integrity

One of the most important issues to think about when evaluating different properties is the structural integrity and quality of the build. When reviewing the structural integrity of the property, make sure you enquire about plumbing, electrics, insulation, materials in the structure and any existing damage (if it's an established property).

To help you understand whether the property is structurally sound, you should organise building and pest inspections to pre-empt any issues that may appear further down the track, (remember that inspections should only be organised if you have a strong intention to purchase the property, as you will have to pay for each inspection you request).

Property size

Regardless of the type of property you choose, you'll need to have an idea of the size. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need? Is the amount of space you need now the same as the space you'll need in the future? Do you want an extra bedroom for guests or potential tenants? Do you need a study if you plan to work from home?

Think about your lifestyle needs and the property size that will allow you to live comfortably. This will help you determine whether you need a 2-bedroom or 3-bedroom property, as well as whether you need additional rooms such as a living room, a baby's room or an outdoor entertaining area.

House or unit?

One of the biggest choices you'll have to make when selecting a property is whether to buy a house or a unit. While houses are typically more expensive, they've historically seen higher levels of capital growth. A detached house also offers more flexibility for renovations and additions.

Units, meanwhile, can have enormous potential as rental properties. They also have a lower price point than detached houses, so can be a good choice for first home buyers.

Should you buy a house or unit?

Compare home loans

When you're comparing home loans, you'll want to consider the following factors:

• Interest rate. Ideally, you want to find a home loan that offers a competitive interest rate by market standards. A lower interest rate can go a long way in helping you maximise your savings. You should always pay attention to the comparison rate of different home loans, as this reflects the true cost of the loan by taking fees into account.
• Fees. When comparing different home loans, you should keep an eye out for application or establishment fees, ongoing fees and discharge fees. Finding a home loan with fewer fees will help you to minimise your holding mortgage costs.
• Features. As mentioned previously, there are many competitive features available that can help you save money. Compare if the lender allows you to make additional repayments without penalty, if a free redraw is available, if a 100% offset account is available, if split loans are offered, if the lender provides packaged discounts, and if salary crediting is offered.

Learn more about how to compare home loans

Complete the purchase

Once you’ve completed your preliminary research, decided where to buy and organised your finance, you need to prepare for your property purchase.

Get inspections done

Pre-purchase inspections give you a chance to see if any damages are present in the property and also allow a professional to view the fixtures and fittings that come with the property, such as air conditioners, carpet or furniture, to make sure they are sound. Generally, the contract of sale requires the seller to hand over the property to you in the same condition as it was on the day the sale was finalised.

You'll want to organise a building and pest inspection if you're buying a house, and a strata inspection if you're buying a unit.

Make an offer (or bid)

Houses in Australia are generally sold in two ways: via private treaty or auction.

With a private treaty sale the property owner sets the sale price and the real estate agent negotiates with buyers to achieve the highest possible sales price.

An auction involves multiple buyers bidding on the property at the same time.

If you've figured out your budget and researched suburbs and properties, you should have a good idea of what's a reasonable (and realistic) price for the property you're looking for.

Expert tips: how to bid at auction

Get ready to settle

If you win at auction or your offer is accepted in a private treaty sale, the next step will be to exchange contracts and pay your deposit to the vendor. Make sure to have a conveyancer or solicitor inspect the contract of sale.

Once contracts are exchanged, you'll be headed towards settlement day. Settlement is the process of paying the vendor and changing ownership of the home. Your lender will disburse funds for your home loan and you'll receive your keys.

You'll now need to sort out your home loan (if you haven't already started looking). And you'll need to make sure you have enough funds in your account to cover settlement, legal and conveyancing fees, as well as stamp duty.

After settlement is complete, your home purchase journey will have come to conclusion. It will be time to move into your new home.

Apply for a home loan

Once you've applied for a home loan, your application will progress through several stages. The first is pre-approval, which is a lender agreeing in principle to extend you a certain amount of finance. This stage is important, as it will give you an idea of your budget. However, the lender is under no obligation at this stage to offer you a home loan.

The next stage is conditional approval. At this stage, a lender often will have performed credit checks and verified your income and expenses, but will be waiting on more information either about your finances or the property you're buying.

The final stage is full approval. At this point, you'll sign and return your loan contracts and will have entered into a formal, binding agreement with your lender.

Get ready to move in

Once the settlement is complete, the property is all yours. But before you start packing boxes, there are a few items to prioritise on your agenda.

Familiarise yourself with the body corporate or local council of your area, organise removalist or cleaning services (if required) and get your utility accounts sorted. These are just some of things you need to organise before moving in.

Before making the transition, ensure that you're fully prepared to enjoy life in your new home from the moment you get the keys.

• Sort through your belongings. Now is the time to ruthlessly cull anything you don't need or won't use.
• Transfer accounts. Move all your services and utilities to your new address, and have your mail redirected.
• Pack. It's a good idea to categorise your boxes by room for easy unpacking at your new residence.
• Book removalists. It's wise to leave yourself a buffer of a few days between settlement day and your removalists coming. If you don't and run into any delays at settlement, it could add significant cost to your removalist bill.

Keep track of your move with our downloadable checklist

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the first home buyers grant in Australia?

  The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) is a government scheme designed to help first-time homebuyers purchase a home by providing a one-time grant. The amount varies by state and territory, but it can be up to $20,000.

• How much deposit do I need for a home loan?

  Typically, a 20% deposit is recommended to avoid paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). However, some home loans allow for lower deposits, such as 5% or 10%, which is especially useful for first-time buyers.

• How does the first home guarantee work?

  The First Home Guarantee (formerly known as the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme) allows eligible first home buyers to purchase a home with as little as a 5% deposit. The government acts as a guarantor for the remaining 15%, eliminating the need to pay for expensive Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).

• Pros and cons of buying an house

  Houses offer more space, more renovation options and more privacy. But you're on the hook for more property maintenance, especially if you have a garden or buy an older property.

  Pros

  • Floor space. If you want to conquer the final frontier and get more space for your family to live in comfortably, houses offer far more room to move than apartments.
  • Outdoor space. If you have a green thumb, you want to expand your home or if you have young kids, a backyard is useful. You can build a pergola or entertaining area and enjoy the freedom of having your own outdoor space.
  • Flexibility. If you own a house, you can more or less do what you want – there are no owners' corporation or strata laws to abide by. As long as you keep council and building regulations in mind, you're pretty much free to renovate however you like. You can expand or upgrade the house, adding to your equity and making the place more liveable.
  • Privacy. Another benefit of living in a house instead of an apartment is that you're generally not living in as close proximity to your neighbours. So you can enjoy your life without having to worry about disturbing your neighbours (or being disturbed by them).
  • Greater value. House prices grow faster, on average, than apartments. This means you can build wealth more easily just by owning a house.

  Cons

  • Higher prices. Houses are almost always more expensive than comparable units in similar neighbourhoods. This means you either save a bigger deposit and borrow more or buy a house in a cheaper suburb.
  • Maintenance. Lawns need mowing, gutters need cleaning, trees need trimming and windows need washing. A house can be a lot of work. That's fine if you love DIY projects and gardening. If you don't, the extreme low maintenance aspect of apartment living is pretty appealing.
  • Higher costs (and more bills). Living in a house is generally more expensive than living in an apartment. You have more space to heat and cool, and more furniture and equipment to buy.

• Pros and cons of buying an apartment

  Owning a unit or apartment means less maintenance, but you have the extra cost of strata or body corporate fees. And your neighbours live just one wall, floor or ceiling away.

  Pros

  • More affordable. While there are some exceptions to the rule, apartments are generally cheaper to buy than houses. According to figures from Domain Group in September 2021, Sydney's median house price was $1,499,126. The median apartment price was just $802,475. For Melbourne, the median house price was $1,037,923 and the median unit price was $576,879.
  • Less maintenance. You don't have to mow the lawn or tend to the garden when you own an apartment. There's also the fact that there are plenty of maintenance tasks that can be looked after by strata, meaning you have more free time to do whatever you want.
  • Low cost. While the reduced space of apartments can be a drawback, it also results in cheaper electricity and gas bills.
  • Location. Many apartments are built near city centres, allowing you to live closer to everything, from transport and schools to restaurants and even your work.
  • Extra facilities. Owning an apartment might also give you access to a whole host of building facilities. There could be a pool, gym, tennis court, playground and even a shared garden. These added inclusions need to be taken into account when deciding whether to buy an apartment or a house.
  • Security. Thieves often have to pass through several layers of security to get to your apartment door, which isn't the case with many houses.

  Cons

  • Strata/owners' corporation by-laws. Living in an apartment means abiding by the rules imposed by the owners' corporation, such as not hanging washing over the balcony or not having pets in the property. If you want to renovate or upgrade your apartment, you may need to seek approval first.
  • Fees. You'll also need to pay a fee to the owners' corporation to cover shared maintenance costs, so remember to take this into consideration when calculating total costs.
  • Less space. Apartments don't offer as much living space as houses.
  • Less privacy. If you don't like listening to your neighbours fight, entertain guests or get up to anything else in the privacy of their own home – or the fact that they can probably hear you doing the same things – apartment living may not be for you.

• Do houses or units make for better investments?

  If you're investing in property, the apartment versus house question looks quite different. And it comes down to your strategy and goals.

  Rental income

  All other things being equal, a house will bring in more rental income than an equivalent apartment. But possibly not as much as the extra purchasing cost, given that houses sell at much higher prices. If you're looking to maximise rental income while minimising expenses, then an apartment might be a better fit. Crunch the numbers and work out which is better for you. But you'll also need to consider capital growth.

  Capital growth

  Most investors are really focused on making capital gains, which refers to the growth in value of the property. In a rapidly rising market, many properties have doubled in value over 5-10 years. This investment strategy has been a huge wealth creation vehicle for many Australians and has played a large role in fuelling the recent property boom.

  The data is clear: houses show much stronger capital growth than apartments. The majority of Aussies prefer houses, and owning land is seen as more valuable than owning a piece of an apartment complex. But this trend is slowly changing as more and more Australians live in apartments.

  But rental income is an important factor too. If you are able to buy a unit for much less than a house, but rent it for a similar amount, you might be able to enjoy a slower capital growth on a property that pays for itself more easily.

John is the co-host of the this is money and this is property podcasts (formerly my millennial money and my millennial property). He is Director at SOLVERE Wealth, Director/Buyers Agent at Envisage Property, and is property coach of over 25 years.

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been reviewed by John Pidgeon, a member of Finder's Editorial Review Board.

Written by

Richard Whitten

Money Editor

Richard Whitten is Finder’s Money Editor, with over seven years of experience in home loans, property and personal finance. His insights appear in top media outlets like Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine, and the Herald Sun, and he frequently offers expert commentary on television and radio, helping Australians navigate mortgages and property ownership. Richard holds multiple industry certifications, including a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking (RG 206) and Tier 1 and Tier 2 certifications (RG 146), as well as a Graduate Certificate in Communications from Deakin University. See full bio

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Richard has written 584 Finder guides across topics including:

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Sarah Megginson

Personal finance expert + Media spokesperson

With over 20 years of experience in property, finance and investment journalism, Sarah is a trusted expert whose insights regularly appear across television, radio, and print media, including Sunrise, ABC News, and Yahoo! Finance. She has previously served as managing editor for Your Investment Property and Australian Broker, and her expert advice has been shared over 2,500 times in 2023-2024 alone. Sarah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and a Tier 1 Generic Knowledge certification, which complies with ASIC standards. See full bio

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Sarah has written 197 Finder guides across topics including:

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