Buy now, or save a bigger deposit?
The most common question we get, and the one most often answered with a feeling rather than a number. This puts both paths side by side: what buying today costs, what waiting costs, and whether the extra saving actually crosses a threshold that matters.
What the comparison actually shows
Two things that move in opposite directions. Waiting produces a larger deposit and therefore a smaller loan and a lower repayment. Buying now produces a larger loan but stops the clock on rent and on a market you do not control. The calculator handles the first honestly and refuses to guess at the second, because nobody can.
The threshold that matters most
Twenty per cent is where lenders mortgage insurance normally stops applying, and the premium rises steeply as the deposit shrinks below it. If waiting takes you from fifteen per cent to twenty, you are not just buying a smaller loan, you are removing a cost that can run to tens of thousands. If waiting takes you from ten per cent to fourteen, you are paying insurance either way and the case for waiting is much weaker.
The scheme exception
For eligible first home buyers, the government guarantee scheme removes lenders mortgage insurance at a five per cent deposit, which changes this comparison completely. If you qualify, the twenty per cent threshold may be irrelevant to you and waiting could cost a year for very little gain. Worth checking eligibility before running the numbers.
What the calculator cannot know
Whether prices move while you save, whether your income changes, and whether the property you want will still be available. Those are the real variables and none of them is predictable. What this gives you is the arithmetic you can be certain about, so the uncertain parts are the only thing left to weigh.
Numbers close, and still not sure?
Charles can tell you whether a scheme changes the maths entirely, and what your borrowing figure actually supports today.
Buy now or wait questions
Is it better to buy now or save a bigger deposit?
It depends almost entirely on whether the extra saving crosses the twenty per cent threshold where mortgage insurance stops, and on whether you qualify for a scheme that removes insurance anyway. Below those thresholds the gain from waiting is mostly a smaller loan, which has to be weighed against the rent you pay while waiting.
Does the calculator assume prices rise?
No, and that is deliberate. It holds the price constant so the comparison is arithmetic you can rely on rather than a forecast dressed up as one. If prices move while you save, the comparison moves with them, and neither we nor anyone else can tell you which way.
Is paying lenders mortgage insurance always bad?
No. It is what allows many people to buy years earlier than a twenty per cent deposit would permit, and those years of ownership have their own value. It should be a decision made with the number in front of you rather than a cost discovered at approval. The LMI calculator gives an indicative premium.
What if I qualify for the 5% scheme?
Then this comparison usually resolves in favour of buying sooner, because the scheme removes the insurance cost that waiting was designed to avoid. Places are limited and eligibility depends on you and the property, so it is worth confirming rather than assuming either way.
Should I include the deposit's other uses?
Ideally yes, in your own thinking. Money in a deposit is not doing anything else, and an honest comparison remembers that. The calculator keeps it simple on purpose; the fuller conversation is worth having with someone who can see your whole position.
Related tools and guides
Estimates only, not credit or financial advice. This tool uses general assumptions and cannot see your credit file, verify your income or apply any particular lender's policy. Your position is confirmed in a full assessment.
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