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Most people know that buying with less than a 20% deposit usually means paying lenders mortgage insurance.

What a lot of buyers don’t realise is that LMI does not protect them. It protects the bank.

If you borrow $1m with a 10% deposit, you could be looking at roughly $20k to $22k in LMI

Higher LVR loans are often priced worse, sometimes by 0.25% to 1.00%, so the cost is not just the insurance premium. It can be a higher repayment every month until your property value increases or the loan is paid down.

The First Home Guarantee has been one of the best known ways around this. Eligible first home buyers can buy with 5% deposit and no LMI, provided they meet the scheme rules and buy under the relevant price cap and access competitive rates.

But it is not the only pathway.

There are lenders offering no-LMI options for certain borrowers, including:

• 90% no LMI for some owner occupiers and investors (no occupation restrictions with Ubank)
• 90% no LMI for education, essential workers and frontline roles
• 95% no LMI for Medico
• 90% no LMI for accountants, lawyers and engineers
• 90% to 95% no LMI for some IT professionals
• 85% no LMI for some sportspeople, entertainers and coaches

The catch is that every lender has different rules.

Some have income caps, loan size caps, occupation requirements, association membership requirements or property restrictions.

Using equity for a renovation is easier than most people realise, although it does require a new loan application.

The process is similar to a normal refinance. A broker compares lender options, orders valuations and recommends a suitable structure based on how much you need.

Many lenders allow cash out up to 80% of the property’s value. If you are close to that limit, the choice of bank can make a significant difference because valuations can vary by 10% to 20%.

I had an example this week where the existing bank valued a property at $1 million. Bankwest came back at $1.2 million and Westpac at $1.125 million.

That difference can completely change how much equity is available.

The usual structure is to refinance the existing home loan, ideally onto a more competitive bank, and create a separate loan split for the renovation funds.

For non-structural renovations, many lenders do not require building quotes or progress payments. The funds can be released into an offset account and accessed as invoices come in.

With July approaching, this is when people start planning pools for summer, patios, bathrooms, kitchens and other upgrades.

Before using your savings or committing to the work, it is worth checking what your property is worth across a few lenders and how much equity you can actually access.

In a booming market, agents can set ambitious expectations because 30 people are attending the open home and six offers are already on the table.

This market is different. Agents are returning calls, following up buyers and having to work harder to justify the sellers expectations.

That gives buyers more room to do proper due diligence and form their own view of fair value.

A similar property selling for $1.5m a year ago does not mean the property you are looking at is worth $1.5m today. In a changing market, I would be paying far more attention to comparable sales from the past one or two months than an old result or the agent’s price guide.

If a property is listed for $1.6m to $1.8m, has been sitting on the market for 60 days and the strongest recent comparable sold for $1.5m, there is nothing wrong with starting lower and explaining why.

As the buyer, your job is to work out what the property is worth to you based on today’s market, not the price the agent is trying to create.

I find that some first home buyers focus on the wrong things.

The rate matters, but it’s not the only thing that can make or break the experience.

Before choosing a home loan, I’d ask:

Is the pre-approval fully assessed?
Some are reviewed by a credit assessor. Others are largely automated and still subject to a proper assessment later.

How quickly can the lender approve the loan?
A cheap rate is less useful if the lender takes three weeks and your finance clause expires before then.

Should I use my entire deposit?
Putting in more cash may reduce the loan, but keeping a healthy buffer after settlement can be just as important.

The best home loan is not always the one with the lowest advertised rate.

It’s the one that suits your situation, can be approved and settled on time, and still works for you after you get the keys.

An offset acts like an normal transaction account. Salary goes in, you spend from it and can even have up to 10 separate offset accounts to make saving simpler.

The difference is every dollar sitting there reduces the portion of your loan being charged interest.

Your repayments don’t change. But less interest is charged, so more of each repayment goes straight to paying down the loan... meaning it gets paid off sooner.

On your PPOR loan (non-deductible debt), money in offset is one of the highest returns you can safely get. At a 5.89% home loan rate, someone in the top tax bracket would need to earn at an interest rate ~11.11% elsewhere to beat it.

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This is a pretty significant change for anyone considering buying property through their super.

Labor has struck a deal with The Greens to ban new limited recourse borrowing arrangements for residential property inside SMSFs.

Existing SMSF property loans will remain in place, and the government says there will be time for transactions already underway to be finalised. The exact transition rules will obviously matter here.

Importantly, this does not ban SMSFs from owning residential property outright. It prevents them from borrowing to purchase it through an LRBA.

Personally, I'm not a fan of SMSF lending, It also only represents less than 1% of residential property borrowing, so it is unlikely to move the broader market.

Westpac is forecasting Sydney dwelling prices to fall 3% in 2026, Melbourne to fall 4%, and the national market to remain broadly flat. Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide are still expected to grow, so this is clearly not one property market moving in the same direction.

My take is that the softer conditions are already showing up in Sydney, particularly across premium properties above $3m. Competition among first home buyers is still strong, but further up the market buyers have more room to negotiate.

Over the past month, I’ve had several clients secure properties below the initial asking price and below what they were originally prepared to pay. That is much harder to do when confidence is high and buyers are competing against each other.

Personally, I would rather buy in a softer market where I have negotiating power than wait for the headlines to turn positive and the competition to return. The opportunity often appears before buying feels comfortable.

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I’ve noticed variable rates sharpening over the past week.

People’s Choice briefly moved to 5.89% before quietly increasing it back to 5.99%, possibly after getting more demand than expected. Westpac and ANZ have been pricing larger owner-occupier loans in the high 5's while ME Bank is now offering 5.99% with a $3,000 cashback per loan over $700k and below 70% LVR.

My guess is the banks are starting to feel the reduction in investment lending volumes. Some investors are moving towards non-bank lenders, while others are simply waiting for the dust to settle.

That leaves owner-occupier refinances as one of the more obvious places for banks to compete for volume.

It’s still early, but it will be interesting to see whether more lenders sharpen their pricing over the next few weeks.

Quite a few questions lately regarding what savings can be kept when applying for a loan using the first home guarantee scheme.

The following updated policies will apply to applications with Scheme places reserved on or after 1 July 2026

For Scheme places reserved on or after 1 July 2026, customers must not have retained savings of more than six months of living expenses, plus six months of loan repayments.

An interesting but great step that hopefully brings clarity to the rules of play.

There's so many people on social media lately pushing a “7-year home loan payoff strategy.”

This is not meant to be self promotion but, I’ve reviewed thousands of client setups in my brokerage and honestly, it’s not some secret formula.

I’ll save you attending that pre-recorded sales webinar 👇

1. ⁠Salary goes into offset (standard) and expenses come out of a low fee credit card.
2. ⁠Pay fortnightly to shave off some years. (if your not putting everything into offset)
3. ⁠Refinance to a lower rate and keep repayments at the higher level to pay the loan down faster.
4. Convert existing investment loans to interest only and pour additional money in to PPOR debt
5. ⁠Buy an investment property, hope for growth, then sell and tip the profits into the owner-occupied loan.

That last one is smart... But it’s not guaranteed especially in this market.

Most people who can afford to do this are already doing some version of it.

There’s no silver bullet just discipline, surplus income and smart research... oh and many of the "Gurus" that sprout the investment property strategy conveniently partner with developers in those areas that they suggest you buy in.... coincidence?

If you’re seeing those ads and thinking you’re missing out… you’re probably not.

The market is pricing Tuesday’s RBA meeting as an almost certain hold.

The more interesting update is that both CBA and NAB have now revised their forecasts and expect rate cuts to begin in early 2027.

That does not mean cuts are guaranteed, but it suggests they believe the current hiking cycle is close to finished and the next move is more likely down than up.

This is also another interesting market signal on the back of the reduction in fixed rates from Macquarie and ANZ i posted about here.

Thoughts?

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Most Aussies refinance to lower their repayments and pocket the difference.

Nothing wrong with that, but the smarter financial move is usually to keep paying the old amount and not change the loan term.

In the example below, refinancing a $1m loan from 6.35% to 5.89% reduces the minimum repayment and shows 3 switching options.

Keep paying the original amount and the loan is paid off 3 years and 6 months earlier. Same loan, just $300 per month redirected toward the balance instead of spending.

Then add salary and savings sitting in offset, and keep repayments unchanged as rates fall. For households that borrow at 80% of capacity, that is how a 30-year loan can realistically become a 15, 12 or even 10-year loan.

Refinancing saves interest. What you do with the savings is what changes the loan term.

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Stamp duty will be abolished for all ACT first-home buyers from July 1, 2026, regardless of property price or income. Stamp duty exemptions will also be expanded for pensioners, eligible NDIS participants, and buyers who have not owned property in the last five years.

Grattan Institute released some helpful summary tables. Top 1% of taxpayers earn $419k an 11% increase on the prior year and outlines the net wealth, super balances and home equity values per age group.

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Grattan Institute released some helpful summary pre-budget. Top 1% of taxpayers earn $419k an 11% increase on the prior year and outlines the net wealth, super balances and home equity values per age group.

https://preview.redd.it/f3p59ri7s56h1.jpg?width=1272&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf2d2dc9cb035065c078916095e732cc6db28028

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Buying your first home is a massive step. For most people it is the biggest financial decision they have made so far, and Australia actually has some pretty good incentives to help first home buyers get in.

Here's a quick overview of the main ones

First Home Guarantee, This allows eligible first home buyers to purchase with as little as a 5% deposit without paying LMI. Single parents or legal guardians may be able to purchase with as little as 2%. This means faster purchasing time and not paying higher interest rates as a result, in October last year this scheme expanded to be for any income level.

First Home Super Saver Scheme, which is massively underused. This lets you make voluntary contributions into super, have them taxed at 15%, and later apply to release eligible amounts to help buy your first home. The current caps are $15,000 per financial year and $50,000 total per person, so for couples this can become a meaningful deposit strategy.

First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, which is state based. This is usually where stamp duty exemptions or concessions come in. Every state has different rules, price caps and eligibility requirements that your broker / conveyancer can provide guidance on.

First Home Owner Grant, which is generally more relevant for people buying or building a brand new home. The price caps for this scheme are very low and often mean most people in major cities aren't eligible.

The frustrating part is these schemes often overlap, and the rules change depending on the state, property type, purchase price and your personal situation.

I’ve put together a more detailed first home buyer PDF guide that breaks this down in more detail.

I’ll leave the PDF link in the comments. No email capture or anything like that, just a free guide for anyone trying to make sense of it all.

Earlier today Macquarie and ANZ slightly reduced some of their fixed home loan rates.

I think this is worth paying attention to.

Late last year we started seeing fixed rates move up before a lot of people expected it. Not long after that, we had multiple rate hikes and borrowers were pushed back towards the highs we were seeing last year.

This time, the move is the other way.

That does not mean the RBA is definitely about to cut rates. Banks are not charities and fixed rates can move for a bunch of reasons including funding costs, competition and where markets think rates are heading.

But when lenders start sharpening fixed rates, it usually tells you they are becoming more comfortable with where the next part of the cycle might be heading.

The public data still does not exactly scream rate cuts. Inflation is still the main game and the RBA is not going to move just because everyone with a mortgage wants relief.

But banks are seeing spending behaviour, arrears, savings buffers and customer data at a level most of us do not. If fixed rates are starting to move down, it may be an early sign that household pressure is showing up before it becomes obvious in the headline numbers.

It does not mean everyone should rush to fix, frankly their fixed rates are quite high still.

But after months of higher rates and borrowing capacity pressure, fixed rates moving down is at least one of the first more positive signals we have seen in a while.