The Real Cost of Buying a House in Australia in 2026 - Deposit, Stamp Duty and the Fees Nobody Quotes You

21 October 2026

Buy a house at the national median right now and you're signing up to $899,236. That's Australia's median dwelling value at the end of September 2026, per Cotality's Home Value Index. Trouble is, the sticker price is the number everybody plans around, and it's the one number that doesn't tell you how much cash you need on settlement day. Here's what buying actually costs in 2026, and where you can legitimately save five figures.

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Why this matters in Australia in 2026

The national median dwelling value is $899,236, after a 1.1% fall in September and a flat 12 months. Sydney's median is $1,198,596, Brisbane's $1,048,880, Perth's $975,022 and Melbourne's $780,550 (Cotality Home Value Index, 30 September 2026).
The RBA lifted the cash rate to 4.60% on 29 September 2026, up from 4.35%. Borrowing is more expensive than it was a year ago, which squeezes how much the bank will lend you.
The average new owner-occupier home loan is $731,000 (ABS Lending Indicators, June quarter 2026).
29,319 first home buyers took out an owner-occupier loan in the June quarter 2026, borrowing $18.4 billion between them, up 10% in value over the year (ABS).
NSW transfer duty above $1,290,000 is $52,237 plus $5.50 per $100 over that threshold (Revenue NSW, 2026/27 rates).

Put those together and the central fact of buying in 2026 is this: the deposit isn't your biggest hurdle. The stack of government charges, insurance premiums and professional fees sitting on top of it is what catches people out.

1. Work out your real cash number before you look at a single listing

Most buyers calculate a deposit, then start browsing. Do it the other way round. Write down the cash you'll have at settlement, after moving costs, then work backwards to a purchase price. Your real requirement is the deposit plus stamp duty plus everything in the table further down, and in Sydney that "everything" can be another $50,000. If the price that falls out is lower than you hoped, better to learn it now than after you've paid for an inspection on a house you can't settle on.

2. Check your stamp duty before you fall in love with a price

Stamp duty is the biggest add-on, and it moves in steps, not smoothly. In NSW, duty on a $700,000 purchase is $25,687. On the Sydney median of $1,198,596, it's $48,124. Cross $1,290,000 and you're in the top bracket at 5.5% on every dollar above it.

The part worth knowing: first home buyers in NSW pay no duty at all up to $800,000, and a reduced rate up to $1 million (NSW Government, First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme). At $850,000 the concessional duty is $9,796.75; at $950,000, $29,390.25. Above $1 million the concession disappears.

So a first home buyer in Sydney, where the median is just under $1.2 million, pays the same full $48,124 as everyone else. That's the inconvenient bit nobody puts in the brochure. Victoria's first home buyer savings cut out at $750,000, which rules out a big slice of Melbourne too. Check your state revenue office before you bid, not after.

3. Decide whether a 5% deposit is a win or a trap

The First Home Guarantee changed shape on 1 October 2025. The 35,000-place annual cap and the income limits ($125,000 single, $200,000 couple) were both removed, and the price caps rose: $1.5 million for Sydney, Newcastle and the Illawarra, $1 million for Brisbane and the ACT, $950,000 for Melbourne and Geelong, $900,000 Adelaide, $850,000 Perth.

You buy with a 5% deposit, the government guarantees the rest, and you don't pay lender's mortgage insurance. That's not a rounding error. LMI on a $700,000 purchase runs about $26,740 with a 10% deposit and $30,797 with 5% (Money.com.au, based on Westpac's calculator).

That's the win. The trap is that a 5% deposit means a bigger loan at 4.60% and rising, with almost no equity buffer. If values fall, and the national index fell 1.1% in September alone, you can be underwater quickly. The scheme is good value if your income is stable and you'll stay put for years. It's a bad idea if you're stretching to the limit of what a lender will approve.

4. Lock in a conveyancer before you bid, not after

You need someone to review the contract before you sign or bid, because there's no cooling-off period at auction. Ringing around for a conveyancer on the Monday after you've won is how people end up accepting whatever contract they were handed.

Expect 1,000–3,000 for a licensed conveyancer in metro NSW, 600–1,400 in Victoria and 500–1,300 in Queensland, with solicitors charging more. Disbursements (title searches, council and water certificates, the PEXA settlement fee) add roughly 300–800. Get two or three quotes and ask whether the figure is fixed or an estimate. You can search local conveyancers and legal services by city.

5. Never skip the building and pest inspection

A combined building and pest inspection on a three or four bedroom house costs roughly $330 to $1,090 including GST depending on the city: about 495–730 in Sydney, 500–700 in Melbourne, 550–750 in Brisbane. Buying an apartment? Add a strata records inspection, around 350–450 in NSW, which covers levies, sinking fund health and defect history that no building inspection will touch.

Six hundred dollars to find out a house needs $40,000 of restumping is the best-value spend in the process. Book an inspector who carries professional indemnity insurance and gives you a written report you can actually read, not a tick-box checklist.

6. Budget the small government fees too

They're small individually and annoying collectively. In NSW from 1 July 2026, registering the transfer costs $182.73 including GST, and registering your mortgage is another $182.73 (NSW Land Registry Services, 2026/27 fees). Your lender may add a loan application or settlement fee of a few hundred dollars, and you'll reimburse the seller for council rates and water already paid past settlement, a few hundred to a couple of thousand depending where in the quarter you settle.

7. Don't count on a grant you can't actually get

First Home Owner Grants exist in every state, but almost all of them apply only to newly built homes. NSW offers $10,000 on new homes up to $600,000, a cap that excludes essentially all of Sydney. Victoria's $10,000 grant caps at $750,000. Queensland's was $30,000 for contracts signed by 30 June 2026 and drops to $15,000 after. WA offers $10,000 up to $800,000 south of the 26th parallel; the NT runs up to $50,000 on new homes.

If you're buying established, assume you're getting nothing and treat any grant as a bonus. These change with state budgets, often at short notice, so confirm the current amount with your state revenue office.

8. Line up your post-settlement trades now

Settlement day is a bad day to be searching for a locksmith. Before you get the keys, shortlist a removalist, a move-in cleaner, an electrician for safety switches and a locksmith for a rekey. If the inspection flagged anything, book the plumber or roofer while the report is fresh. Good trades in the capitals run two to three weeks out, and longer in December.

What buying really costs: a worked example

A $700,000 established house in Sydney, same property, two different buyers.

Cost	Non–first home buyer (10% deposit)	First home buyer (5%, First Home Guarantee)
Deposit	$70,000	$35,000
Stamp duty (NSW)	$25,687	$0 (exempt under $800,000)
Lender's mortgage insurance	~$26,740	$0 (government guaranteed)
Transfer + mortgage registration	$365	$365
Conveyancer + disbursements	~$2,350	~$2,350
Building and pest inspection	~$600	~$600
Cash needed (excl. deposit)	~$55,742	~$3,315

The difference in non-deposit cash is a touch over $52,000 on an identical house. That's the whole argument for checking your eligibility properly, and for not buying one dollar over a threshold.

Common mistakes

Budgeting the deposit and nothing else. On the example above, the extras cost almost as much as the 10% deposit itself.

Bidding at auction before a contract review. No cooling-off, no way out, and you've inherited whatever easement or unapproved deck is buried in the contract.

Buying at $1,010,000 in NSW as a first home buyer. Ten thousand over the concession cutoff costs you roughly $40,000 in duty. Negotiate under the line.

Treating a price guide as the price. Guides routinely sit 5–10% below the sale price. Budget against your maximum bid.

Skipping the strata report. Special levies for defect rectification have run into tens of thousands per lot. The report is 350–450.

Assuming you'll get a grant. Most are new-build only, with caps well below capital city medians.

Get the right people lined up before you sign

The money saved here isn't saved on the purchase price. It's saved by checking a duty threshold before you bid, spending $600 on an inspection, and having a conveyancer who read the contract properly.

Find conveyancers, inspectors, removalists and trades near you on CitiInfo, browse every category across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra, or get in touch if you can't find what you need. If you're the business, add your free listing and start showing up when buyers search your suburb.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Lenders generally want 20% to avoid lender's mortgage insurance, which is $140,000 on a $700,000 home. You can buy with 5% through the First Home Guarantee and no LMI, or with 10% while paying LMI of roughly $26,740 on that price. The number to plan for is your deposit plus stamp duty plus around $3,500 in fees and registrations: on a $700,000 purchase with no concession, roughly $125,000 in cash at a 10% deposit.

It depends on your state and your price. In NSW there's no transfer duty up to $800,000 and a reduced rate to $1 million, after which full duty applies. Victoria's first home buyer savings stop at $750,000. Because capital city medians sit well above several of those thresholds, and Sydney is at $1,198,596, plenty of first home buyers pay full duty. Check your state revenue office for the current brackets.

It saves roughly $30,797 in LMI on a $700,000 purchase and gets you in years earlier than saving 20% would. The cost is a larger loan at a higher rate and a thin equity buffer while values are soft. If your income is secure and you'll hold for five years or more, the maths usually works. If you'd only be approved at the absolute ceiling of your borrowing capacity, reconsider.

Standard settlement is six weeks in NSW and 30–60 days in most other states. You pay inspection fees first, the deposit (usually 10%, or 5% if negotiated) on exchange of contracts, then stamp duty and the balance at settlement. In NSW duty is generally payable within three months of exchange, so most buyers pay it at settlement.

A licensed conveyancer handles a standard residential purchase perfectly well and usually costs less. Use a solicitor if there's anything unusual: a deceased estate, a company or trust purchase, an off-the-plan contract with sunset clauses, an easement or a boundary dispute. Not sure which camp you're in? Ask a conveyancer; a good one will tell you when you need a lawyer instead.

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