first home loan Wollongong

You need a minimum of 5% of the purchase price as a deposit, plus funds for stamp duty, legal fees, inspections and lender charges. If your deposit is under 20% of the property value, Lenders Mortgage Insurance is usually added, which is a one off cost protecting the lender rather than you.

Ways around a smaller deposit

Eligible first home buyers may be able to use the Federal Government's Home Guarantee Scheme to buy with a reduced deposit and no LMI. Some lenders also accept a family guarantee secured against a relative's property. There are also ways to avoid LMI worth understanding before you commit.

What this means across Wollongong

Deposit size decides where you can realistically buy. A unit in Wollongong CBD, Fairy Meadow or Corrimal needs a smaller cash outlay than a house in Thirroul, Austinmer or Figtree. Our guide on how much deposit you need in Wollongong breaks the numbers down further, and we work backwards from your savings and income to show you which suburbs are in range before you start inspecting.

NSW first home buyers can access three main forms of assistance, and they can often be combined.

First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme

Provides a full exemption or partial concession on transfer (stamp) duty up to set price thresholds. See our breakdown of stamp duty costs in Wollongong.

First Home Owner Grant (New Homes)

A one off grant for buying or building a brand new home that has not been lived in before.

Home Guarantee Scheme

A Federal Government program letting eligible buyers purchase with a smaller deposit and no LMI, subject to place limits and property price caps. We cover the detail on our First Home Guarantee page.

Each program has its own rules covering income, residency, property price, prior ownership and whether you will live in the home. Price caps and duty thresholds are reviewed regularly, so last year's figures may not apply now. We check your eligibility against the current rules before you make an offer.

Expect around two to three weeks from application to formal approval, then a typical six week settlement from exchange of contracts in NSW.

The stages

Conditional pre-approval usually takes a few business days once we submit. Formal approval follows after you have a signed contract and the lender completes a valuation, generally another one to two weeks depending on lender turnaround times and valuer access. Our guide to home loan approval times in Wollongong covers current lender turnarounds in more detail.

What causes delays

Almost always missing information: incomplete payslips, undisclosed buy now pay later accounts, a HECS or HELP debt not mentioned, or an unexplained deposit in your bank statements. We front load that work before submission and choose lenders whose current queues suit your timeline. If you are buying at auction, preparation matters even more, because auction contracts have no cooling off period.

Beyond the deposit, budget for stamp duty, conveyancing, inspections, lender fees, insurance and rate adjustments. Buying your first home in Wollongong typically involves:

• Transfer (stamp) duty, unless you qualify for an exemption or concession

• Conveyancing or solicitor fees

• Building and pest inspection, plus a strata report for a unit

• Lender application, valuation and settlement fees

• Lenders Mortgage Insurance if your deposit is under 20%

• Home and contents insurance, required from the date of exchange

• Council and water rate adjustments, plus strata levies for units

• Moving costs and any immediate repairs or furnishing

Wollongong specific factors

Properties on the escarpment side of Wollongong may sit in bushfire prone or landslip mapped areas, which can lift insurance premiums. Older beachside homes in Wollongong suburbs such as Woonona and Bulli often need more thorough inspections.

Our guides on stamp duty costs and common first home buyer mistakes are worth reading before you make an offer. We build a full cost estimate into your borrowing plan so there are no surprises in the week before settlement.