Buying

Buying costs explained for Australian home buyers

A guide to the common upfront costs to check before buying a home, including deposit, duty, legal costs, inspections, and lender fees.

Updated: 29 July 2026
Read time: 7 min read
Reviewed by: emoney broker team

Key checks before you decide

Reviewed by emoney broker team. Updated 29 July 2026. Sources are listed below.

List deposit, duty, legal, inspection, lender, insurance, moving, adjustment, and buffer costs together.
Check state duty, grants, and concessions against official calculators before making an offer.
Compare cash to complete with deposit, LVR, possible LMI, and repayment comfort.
Ask which costs must be paid before exchange, before settlement, and after moving in.

In this guide6 sections

Build the budget around cash to complete Separate government costs from lender costs Budget for repeated inspection and legal costs Check scheme and concession rules early Test the budget at more than one purchase price Bring the cost stack to the broker

Build the budget around cash to complete

The deposit is not the full buying-cost picture. A purchase budget should include deposit, transfer duty, government registration charges, conveyancing, lender fees, inspections, insurance, moving costs, and possible lender's mortgage insurance.

Cash to complete is the amount that needs to be available at settlement and in the days around settlement. It is usually wider than the contract deposit because the buyer may also need government charges, professional fees, lender costs, insurance, moving costs, and a practical buffer.

Buying budgets often become too optimistic at this point. A deposit may look strong until transfer duty, legal checks, inspections and settlement adjustments are added. The broker should test the lending path, while a conveyancer or solicitor checks contract and legal costs.

Cost area	What to check	Who usually confirms it
Deposit	Contract deposit, deposit source, genuine savings, gifts, or scheme support.	Broker and conveyancer
Government costs	Transfer duty, registration, concessions, and state-based timing.	State revenue office and conveyancer
Professional checks	Conveyancing, contract review, building, pest, and strata reports.	Conveyancer, solicitor, and inspectors
Lender costs	Application, valuation, package fees, possible LMI, and settlement requirements.	Broker or lender
Moving and buffer	Insurance, utilities, moving, repairs, furniture, and first ownership costs.	Buyer budget

Deposit and any genuine savings requirement.
Transfer duty, registration, and state government charges.
Conveyancing, contract review, building, pest, and strata checks.
Lender fees, valuation fees, package fees, and LMI where relevant.

Separate government costs from lender costs

Government costs and lender costs behave differently. Transfer duty and registration charges depend on state rules and property details. Lender fees and LMI depend on lender policy, loan size, deposit, and loan-to-value ratio.

Government costs should be checked against the official state or territory calculator for the property location and buyer type. First-home concessions can be valuable, but they can also depend on the property value, residence rules, contract date, and other eligibility details.

Lender costs should be checked separately because they follow the loan structure and lender rules rather than the state duty rules. For example, a low-deposit purchase may change possible LMI, lender fees, or document requirements even when the transfer duty position stays the same.

State duty rules can change by buyer type, property value, and eligibility.
First-home concessions or grants can reduce the cash needed, but only if the rules fit.
LMI may apply at higher LVRs and protects the lender, not the borrower.
Some lender costs are paid upfront, while others may be added to the loan.

Watch out

Budget for repeated inspection and legal costs

Some buying costs can happen before you secure the property. Building, pest, strata, valuation, and contract review costs may repeat if you inspect or bid on more than one property.

Buyers often budget for one clean purchase, but the search process can involve several properties. A contract review for one property, a strata report for another, and a building and pest report before an auction can all be reasonable costs even if the buyer does not end up buying that property.

This matters because those costs usually come out of the same savings pool that will fund settlement. If too much cash is spent before the right property is secured, the buyer may need to reset the purchase range or delay the next offer.

Auction due diligence can cost money before you know whether you will win.
Private treaty contracts may still need legal review and finance timing checks.
Inspection reports can reduce risk, but they are usually property-specific.
Do not spend settlement funds without checking the remaining cash position.

Broker note

Check scheme and concession rules early

Government schemes can help some buyers, but eligibility can depend on buyer status, income, property price, location, lender participation, and timing. Check the official rules before relying on any benefit in your purchase budget.

A grant, concession, or guarantee should be verified, not assumed. The buyer may need to check official government rules, lender participation, property limits, occupancy requirements, and timing before including it in cash-to-complete calculations.

When a low deposit, family gift, first-home concession and pre-approval all form part of the plan, the evidence and timing need to line up before the buyer relies on any benefit.

Confirm whether the property and buyer fit the scheme.
Check whether the lender participates in the scheme.
Confirm whether a grant or concession affects cash to complete.
Keep documents ready for any first-home or low-deposit scheme checks.

Next step

Want a broker to check this against your situation?

Share the loan goal, timing and a few key details. An emoney broker can then pick up the enquiry with the relevant context.Estimate buying costs

Example

Test the budget at more than one purchase price

An upfront buying costs calculator can help estimate the purchase cash needed before inspections become emotional. The estimate still needs checking against current state rules, lender policy, property details, and your contract timing.

Use the calculator as a planning screen. Run the likely purchase range and a second scenario at the upper limit. If the higher scenario only works by ignoring duty, LMI, insurance or moving costs, it is not a reliable buying plan.

The calculator should also sit beside repayment comfort. A buyer may have enough cash to complete the purchase but still need to check whether repayments, rates, insurance, strata, council rates, and ongoing maintenance are manageable after settlement.

Run the calculator at your preferred purchase price.
Run a second scenario at the top of your search range.
Add a buffer for inspections, moving, utilities, and insurance.
Compare the cash needed with savings, gifts, grants, or scheme assumptions.

Broker note

Bring the cost stack to the broker

A broker can check whether the home loan plan looks realistic, but a conveyancer or solicitor should check contract and legal costs. A better first conversation shows the full cash stack, including the deposit.

A useful broker conversation starts with a single view of purchase price, deposit, expected costs, and any concessions or schemes. That makes it easier to spot whether the issue is borrowing capacity, LVR, LMI, genuine savings, cash to complete, or the chosen property type.

The broker should not replace legal or tax advice, but they can help connect the buying-cost picture to lender policy. If the cash stack is tight, the next step may be to adjust the purchase range, review timing, check a different deposit strategy, or prepare documents before a serious offer.

Where the answer is uncertain, separate the next action by owner. The broker can test loan and LVR assumptions, the conveyancer can confirm contract and settlement costs, and the buyer can update the budget buffer before spending more on inspections or bidding. Keep the amount and date of each estimate so stale figures are easy to spot.

Purchase price range and deposit available.
State, suburb, property type, and first-home status.
Expected grant, concession, guarantee, or family support.
Known debts, credit limits, and savings history.

Calculator next step

Upfront buying costs calculator

Bring deposit, duty, legal costs, lender fees, moving costs, and settlement cash into one planning view.

Best for: Checking whether the cash-to-complete picture is realistic before inspections or offers.
What it calculates: Deposit, transfer duty, legal, lender, moving, and other purchase-cost assumptions.

A broker still needs to check lender policy, LVR, mortgage insurance, concessions, contract timing, and document fit.

Open Upfront costs

Sources used

ASIC MoneySmart buying a house
ASIC MoneySmartofficial sourceChecked 29 July 2026
ASIC MoneySmart save for a house deposit
ASIC MoneySmartofficial sourceChecked 29 July 2026
Australian Government first home buyer support
Australian Governmentofficial sourceChecked 29 July 2026
ATO First Home Super Saver Scheme
Australian Taxation Officeofficial sourceChecked 29 July 2026

General information only

This guide is general information and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation, or needs. A broker can review your circumstances before any recommendation.

Next step

Want a broker to check what applies to you?

Share the goal, timing and current loan context in Quick Check so the broker knows what needs reviewing.

Estimate buying costs View related service