Three things put a ceiling on what you can borrow. Your deposit. Your debt relative to income. And whether your income covers repayments after living costs.
This tool solves the first: given your savings, what's the highest purchase price you can reach — after stamp duty eats into your deposit, LMI gets added to your loan (if your LVR is above 80%), and registration fees are paid?
Work in progress, built in public. The deposit ceiling calculation below is live and working. Income-based limits — Debt-to-Income (Stage 2) and serviceability (Stage 3) — are coming next.
Step 1 of 5
Which state or territory?
Stamp duty rates vary significantly by state and affect how much of your savings is available for deposit.
Step 2 of 5
First home buyer?
Step 2 of 5
Do you qualify for the ACT Home Buyer Concession Scheme?
The ACT Home Buyer Concession Scheme gives a full stamp duty exemption to income-eligible buyers — not limited to first home buyers. Approximate threshold: ~$160,000/year for singles. Property must be your principal place of residence (which also sets your LVR ceiling to owner-occupier rates).
Step 3 of 5
How do you plan to use this property?
Victoria charges a lower stamp duty rate for owner-occupiers on homes up to $550,000. This answer also determines your maximum LVR — lenders cap investor borrowing lower than owner-occupier.
Step 3 of 5
New build or established home?
In Tasmania, the 50% first home buyer stamp duty discount applies to established homes only. New builds pay standard rates.
Step 3 of 5
Will you live in it?
Lenders cap investment borrowing lower than owner-occupier. This affects your maximum LVR and therefore the purchase price your deposit can reach.
Step 4 of 5
What type of property?
Many lenders impose a lower maximum LVR on apartments — typically 90% for owner-occupiers and 80% for investors. This directly reduces the purchase price your deposit can reach.
Step 5 of 5
How much have you saved?
Total savings you'd put toward this purchase — including your deposit, stamp duty, and registration fees. Don't subtract anything yet; the calculator does that.
$
Enter your total savings.
Ceiling 1 of 3 — deposit. Banks also cap total debt at 6× gross income (APRA Debt-to-Income limit, Feb 2026) and require repayments to be serviceable after living costs and a 3% interest rate buffer. Stage 2 coming.