Home loan statistics in Australia at a glance
- Average new owner occupier home loan amount: $730,720
- Average initial monthly repayment: $4,494 (over 30 years)
- Average home loan interest rate: 6.24% p.a. (owner occupier)
- Around 31,100 Australian homeowners switch their home loan to another lender every month
- Around 21.6% of new home loans are interest-only (the remainder being principal and interest)
- The total value of new home loans issued between March and June 2026 was $97.65 billion
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Average home loan in Australia (by loan amount)
The average new home loan in Australia is $730,720 for owner occupier homes, including loans for purchases of established properties and construction loans.
The average home loan dropped by around 0.6% since the last quarter but is up around 8% over the past year, which works out as roughly an extra $52,500 for an average borrower.
As you might expect, the average new home loan size is largest in New South Wales and lowest in the Northern Territory and Tasmania, mirroring the median values of properties across the country.
The average home loan has grown most in Western Australia in that last year – rising by around 16%, or an extra $100,000.
| Location | Average home loan amount | Average monthly repayment |
|---|---|---|
Australia overall | $730,720 | $4,494 |
NSW | $841,692 | $5,177 |
Vic | $664,145 | $4,085 |
Qld | $751,000 | $4,619 |
SA | $671,709 | $4,131 |
WA | $720,011 | $4,429 |
Tas | $516,189 | $3,175 |
NT | $545,469 | $3,355 |
ACT | $665,982 | $4,096 |
Average mortgage by loan type
Looking at the breakdown of loan sizes in more detail, we can see that first home buyer and owner occupier refinance loans are roughly on par with one another. Last quarter we saw a rare drop in the average loan size for first-home buyers, with constrained borrowing capacity due to higher interest rates a likely contributing factor.
The average first home buyer loan is still around 10% higher than it was at the same time last year. The jump over that time period is likely due to increased uptake of the expanded First Home Guarantee scheme, which allows first home buyers to more easily get a home loan with a deposit of as little as 5%, meaning more capacity for larger loans.
Meanwhile, average loan sizes for investors are still considerably higher than those for owner occupiers, despite a drop in investor loan sizes in the June 2026 quarter.
- Average first home buyer loan: $610,063
- Average refinance home loan: $605,455
- Average new investment property loan: $708,350
- Average investment loan refinance: $689,040
Across the board, the average loan size in Australia has grown significantly over time.
This steady increase in loan size has been despite volatile interest rates in the last couple of years, with rates rising again in the early part of 2026.
Cotality's Asia-Pacific Research Director, Tim Lawless, explained to Money.com.au that this year's comparably small incline in loan amounts is down to lower housing values and less borrowing capacity.
“Last year, interest rates were lower and housing prices were rising across most parts of the country. In today’s market, where interest rates are seventy five basis points higher and housing prices are under a broad based decline, its not surprising to see the average loan size diminishing", he said.
"Consumer sentiment and the number of home sales have shown a close relationship over time. When confidence is low, consumers will find it harder to make high commitment financial decisions like buying a home.”
Tim Lawless, Research Director at CoreLogic Asia-Pacific
“Buyers are now in a much better position: with lower values, more choice and less urgency, we have seen auction clearance rates holding well below average, and private treaty metrics are showing a rise in median days on market. We except housing price to continue trending lower through the rest of 2026 and into 2027. Price drops are likely to level out once inflation is under control and we see a growing consensus that interest rates are set to fall.”
Tim Lawless, Research Director at CoreLogic Asia-Pacific
Average home loan repayment
The average monthly home loan repayment in Australia is $4,494, an increase of $135 since the last quarter of data. Increasing loan sizes have been been the big driver of recent quarter-to-quarter repayment increases, but higher rates are now the main factor.
Mirroring average loan sizes, the repayment amount varies significantly across states and territories. Unsurprisingly, borrowers in New South Wales pay most on average – $5,177. By contrast, the average repayments in Tasmania is significantly lower at around $3,175.
The average home loan deposit is $173,000 among borrowers purchasing a new home to live in, according to Money.com.au borrower data. Investors purchasing a property do so with a slightly smaller deposit of $168,000 on average.
The average mortgage borrower in Australia
We analysed more than 20,000 borrowers who recently requested a home loan through Money.com.au. Based on this research, here’s a breakdown of who is applying for a home loan in Australia.
- 55% of mortgage applications are from joint applicants, while 45% come from an individual.
- The average annual income of an individual home loan borrower is $131,571. That's 26% higher than the average annual ordinary time earnings of a full-time worker in Australia.
- The average owner occupier refinancing their home loan has a high level of equity (just over 50%) in their property. The figure is lower for investor refinancers who have around 43% equity in their property.
- Both owner occupiers and investors buying a new home borrow just over 79% of the property’s value, on average.
- The vast majority of home loan borrowers are employed full-time (85.4%).
- Self-employed individuals make up a higher percentage of those borrowing to purchase an investment property (13%), compared to owner occupier properties (7%).
- Self-employed borrowers request larger loan amounts on average: $728,000 versus $605,000 for full-time employees.
- Approximately half of Australians (46%) received some form of financial assistance from the Bank of Mum and Dad to purchase a property.
Where do Australians get their home loans?
Home lending in Australia is heavily concentrated around the 'big four' banks. In fact, the combined value of home loans with the major banks is almost three times that of all other banks in Australia combined.However, non-bank lenders saw a 65.2% rise in new loans over the past year. A total of $10.49 billion was issued in the June 2026 quarter compared to $6.35 billion for the same quarter last year.
Non-bank lenders now account for 10.7% of the value of new home lending, up from 4.8% in September 2019.
For borrowers who refinance their home loan, around 60% do so with a different lender (internal refinancing continues to grow). And more than 75% of all new home loans are taken out with the help of a mortgage broker, according to the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia.
New survey data from Money.com.au shows that only 20% of Aussies would trust AI-generated advice about their home loan. This makes home loans the financial product Australians would be least likely to turn to AI advice for.
Mortgage borrowing in Australia by loan type and location
Total home lending has surged past the previous highs of late 2021 and early 2022. Compared to the previous year, overall lending was up by around 6.82% in the June 2026 quarter, driven by both growing owner-occupier (+6%) and investor (+8%) lending.
But while lending is up year-on-year, the value of new loan commitments has dropped in the last two consecutive quarters, as the impact of higher interest rates and reduced taxi incentives for property investors start to flow through to borrower demand.
According to Dr Nalini Prasad, the downturn in Australian lending activity is due to the market adjusting to changes in the negative gearing rules.
“The removal of negative gearing has made it less attractive to be a housing investor so I expect to see weakness in this segment of the market going forward. Since investors are more likely to buy apartments I think price growth for apartments will weaken."
She says it's likely that there will be a growth in first home buyers entering the housing market as it starts to settle.
Dr Nalini Prasad, Senior Lecturer, UNSW Business School
“The weakening of prices makes it easier for first home buyers to enter the market. I expect that slower house price growth will entice first home buyers and people looking to upsize back into the market.”
Dr Nalini Prasad, Senior Lecturer, UNSW Business School
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