Home Loan · Calculator

Borrowing Power Calculator

Translate a comfortable monthly repayment into a conservative home-loan and property range, with an adjustable assessment buffer and buying costs deducted from your available cash.

Budget-based estimateAPRA-style bufferBuying costs deductedPlanning tool only
01INPUTS

What you can comfortably commit to repayments after expenses.

Cash available for both buying costs and the property deposit.

Enter your state-specific duty, conveyancing, inspections and loan setup costs.

Your expected product rate before the assessment buffer.

APRA-regulated banks must apply at least 3 percentage points; lender methods still vary.

02RESULTS
Planning loan capacity at 9.20%$427,322
Property budget after entered costs$547,322
Cash remaining for the deposit$120,000
Estimated LVR78.1%
Capacity at product rate (no buffer)$571,458
Repayment at product rate$2,617 / month
Monthly headroom vs comfort budget$883
Planning with the result

This result is a repayment-budget boundary, not a lender approval. Keep room for insurance, council rates, strata, repairs and changing circumstances. The purchase range deducts entered buying costs from cash savings before adding the remaining deposit to the assessed-rate loan capacity.

Stress-rate buffer

APRA-regulated banks must apply at least a 3 percentage point serviceability buffer above the loan rate. The calculator defaults to 3 and lets you test a larger planning margin.

Deposit & LVR

If the estimated LVR is above 80%, lenders mortgage insurance may apply unless a scheme, guarantor or lender policy changes the requirement.

Common questions
Is borrowing power the same as lender pre-approval?
No. Borrowing power is a planning estimate. Formal pre-approval also depends on lender policy, credit checks, and documentation.
Should I use maximum borrowing power as my budget?
Usually no. A safer range leaves room for rates, insurance, council, strata, and other housing costs.
Do I need stamp duty before trusting the result?
Yes. Enter estimated stamp duty, conveyancing, inspections and loan setup costs. The calculator deducts those costs from your cash savings before treating the remainder as the property deposit.
How does the assessment buffer affect the estimate?
The calculator adds your selected percentage-point buffer to the product rate, then finds the loan whose repayment at that higher assessment rate matches your monthly comfort budget. APRA-regulated banks must apply at least a 3 percentage point serviceability buffer, but each lender also applies its own income, expense, debt and policy rules.

Tax Accuracy & Sources

Reviewed: July 2026 · Tax year: 2026-27

Converts a user-defined monthly comfort budget into a principal-and-interest loan estimate at the product rate plus the selected assessment buffer. It deducts entered buying costs from cash savings before estimating the property budget and LVR. It does not model lender-specific minimum living expenses, income shading, credit-card limits, other debts, DTI policy, credit history, grants, concessions or eligibility for approval.