Your first home, priced before you call the agent.

The first home buyer market has moved a long way from a 20% deposit and a single bank. There are now four real ways to buy your first house with less than 20% deposit, each with its own lender shortlist, its own LVR cap, and its own implications for your monthly repayment. We walk you through all four on the first call. The options: the federal First Home Guarantee (5% deposit, no LMI; from 1 October 2025 there is no income cap and no annual place limit, just the price cap for your region); the standard 5–10% deposit loan with LMI capitalised; the parental guarantee structure where a parent's equity covers the first 20%, removing LMI; and — for QLD purchases — the $30,000 First Home Owner Grant for new builds (extended by the 2026-27 QLD Budget for a further four years) plus the QLD first home buyer stamp duty exemption (uncapped on new builds from 1 May 2025, $700K full / $800K tapered on existing homes). The combination that's cheapest depends on the property, the price point, and the deposit you've actually saved. We price across all 60+ lenders. The sharpest variable rates tend to come from a major bank or a second-tier bank when the file is clean and the LVR sits at 80%. The major banks are all First Home Guarantee participating lenders, alongside most of the second tier, and several lenders are competitive on parental guarantee structures. We pick the combination that gets you into the house, with the right repayment, policy fit and lender structure, at the sharpest indicative rate the file allows. Most first home buyers we see could borrow more than they think. They could also borrow less than the bank would offer. We model both — the absolute ceiling and the comfortable monthly repayment — and you make the call.