Large regional centres for the first home loan Scheme?

The new Loan Deposit Scheme allows eligible first home buyers to secure a loan with a deposit as low as 5%. The capital city price caps will apply to large regional centres with a population over 250,000, namely:

• The Gold Coast;
• Newcastle and Lake Macquarie;
• The Sunshine Coast;
• Illawarra (Wollongong);
• and Geelong, recognising that dwellings in large regional centres tend to be significantly more expensive than other regional areas.

Example of a $400,000 property and a 5% deposit versus a 20% deposit: If you wanted to save a 20% deposit you'd need an extra $60,000 (but no LMI). This would equal around 33 months of mortgage repayments with a 5% deposit. But with a 20% deposit your repayments would be noticeably cheaper, at $1,528 a month. That's $286 a month less. Skipping the LMI means you buy the property faster and save $12,768 in LMI costs. But you'll pay $103,122 more in interest costs over 30 years with a 5% deposit.