Learn · Property due diligence
How much does it really cost to buy a house in Australia?
Cash to settle is deposit plus duty, titles, legal, inspections, LMI and often immediate repairs. Duty differs by state.
Districts Research ·
Cash to settle
The contract price is one line. Duty, titles, legal, inspections and LMI still sit below it.
- StatutoryDuty and titles, by state
- EstimatesLegal and pest, until quoted
- OutsideLMI and repairs
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The arithmetic
What cash do you actually need on top of the purchase price?
The price on the contract is not the cash you need. On top of the deposit sit transfer duty, titles-office fees, conveyancing, building and pest inspections, often lenders mortgage insurance, and whatever the first months of ownership demand. Moneysmart lists those buying costs for both homes and investment properties.
Duty and titles fees are statutory and differ by state and territory, and by whether you are an owner-occupier, an investor or a first-home buyer. Legal and inspection figures in Districts are national estimates. LMI and immediate repairs are outside the calculator. Add them separately or the cash-to-settle figure is incomplete.
The cash-to-settle stack
Deposit plus duty plus titles plus legal plus inspections, then LMI if the LVR requires it, then any repairs you cannot defer.
Write every line before you treat a saved amount as enough. A 20 per cent deposit on an $800,000 contract is $160,000. That is the equity slice. It is not the cash to complete.
| Line | What it is | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit | Price × (1 − LVR) | Your proposed loan structure. See LVR. |
| Transfer duty | State tax on the dutiable transaction | That state’s current schedule. Investor and owner-occupier rates can differ. |
| Titles / transfer fee | Registration of the transfer | That state’s titles office. Statutory. |
| Legal / conveyancing | Contract, searches, settlement | A quote. Districts uses a $2,000 national estimate. |
| Building and pest | Inspection reports before you are bound | A quote. Districts uses a $700 national estimate. |
| LMI | Premium if LVR is high | A lender estimate. Not in the Districts duty model. Protects the lender. |
| Immediate repairs | Work the inspection says cannot wait | The report. Not a schedule and not a Districts field. |
What the Districts stamp-duty calculator includes
The calculator uses transfer-duty schedules current from 1 July 2026. It distinguishes investor and owner-occupier treatment, established home, new home and vacant land, and an optional first-home-buyer flag. Concessions are applied only where that state’s published rule matches the inputs. It does not invent a concession.
The total cash required line is price plus duty plus transfer fee plus the $2,000 legal estimate plus the $700 inspection estimate. That total assumes you pay the whole price in cash. If you are borrowing, replace the price with the deposit, then add duty, titles, legal, inspection, and any LMI.
Council rates and land tax are not cash-to-settle lines here. They are holding costs. See gross yield versus net yield.
Districts calculator
Transfer duty and estimated buying costs
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LMI and repairs sit outside the duty schedule
Moneysmart states that an LVR above 80 per cent may require lenders mortgage insurance. LMI protects the lender if you cannot repay. It does not protect you. It can be paid at settlement or added to the loan. Either way it is extra cash or extra debt. The duty calculator does not include it.
A building report can also turn a “funded” purchase into a shortfall: a leaking roof, a restump, a failed waterproof membrane. Those amounts are not knowable from the contract price. They are knowable from the report. Leave the line unknown until you have it.
Traps that understate the cash required
- Treating the deposit as the only cash needed.
- Copying last year’s duty from another state.
- Ticking first-home buyer on the calculator without reading that state’s current concession.
- Ignoring LMI because the duty page did not list it.
- Assuming the inspection estimate of $700 covers the repairs the report will find.
How Districts shows buying costs
The stamp duty calculator is a labelled schedule plus two national estimates. It is not a conveyancer’s settlement statement and not a loan offer. The rentvesting calculator uses the same duty engine, always with first-home concessions off, because that model is comparing an investor purchase with an owner-occupier purchase under standard schedules.
What a duty figure does not establish
A duty result does not establish that a lender will fund the rest, that LMI will not apply, or that the dwelling will not need work. It does not decide which first-home concession you personally qualify for. Eligibility is a revenue-office and lender question. See first-home buyer or rentvestor.
How to confirm the cash-to-settle figure
Run the Districts calculator for the correct state, buyer use and dwelling type. Then replace the legal and inspection estimates with quotes. Ask the lender whether LMI applies and for how much. Ask the conveyancer for the titles and registration lines they expect. Keep a reserve for the inspection findings. The deposit guide is the next question once the stack is itemised.
Common questions
Does the Districts total cash required include the deposit?
The calculator adds the full purchase price to duty, titles, legal and inspection. If you are borrowing, use the deposit in place of the price when you add those extra lines.
Why is LMI missing from the stamp-duty calculator?
LMI is a lender product, not a statutory transfer-duty line. Moneysmart notes it may apply above 80 per cent LVR. Obtain a lender estimate.
How Districts derives it
Explore using Districts
Sources
Official material this page used. Dates are when Districts checked the page, not the life of the instrument.
Moneysmart
Vacancy, buying costs and holding costs including stamp duty, conveyancing, inspections, rates, insurance, management, repairs, strata and land tax.
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Moneysmart
LVR definition. LMI above 80 per cent LVR protects the lender. Smaller deposits can mean higher costs.
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Related guides
Property due diligence
How much deposit do you need to buy a house in Australia?
5, 10 or 20 per cent is an LVR choice, not the cash you need. Add duty, fees and LMI. Buffers still sit aside.
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What is LVR and why it matters when buying property
Loan-to-value ratio is loan divided by price. It sets deposit size, LMI, and how hard a price move hits equity.
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Borrowing capacity vs what you can actually afford
A bank’s maximum loan is a serviceability result, not a comfortable price. Buffers, DTI limits and household surplus differ.
Rental and holding risk
First home buyer or rentvestor: what could you give up by investing first?
First-home grants and duty concessions are not one national test. Buying an investment first can disqualify you in some states.
Rental and holding risk
Gross yield vs net yield: the holding costs investors forget
Gross yield, net property yield, finance cash flow, then tax. Itemise costs. Not personal tax or credit advice.
Research purposes only. Not personal financial advice, a valuation, or a planning certificate. Always speak to a licensed financial adviser before you act.