Your equity is the difference between the value of your home and what you owe on your home.

Think of your equity as the money you would have left over if you sold your home, and repaid your home loan.

Home Equity Calculator

You can use the calculator below to calculate you equity.

Your property value:

$

Remaining loan amount:

$
CALCULATE

Disclaimer: This calculator is to be used as a guide to help you better understand your options. We have not assessed what options are suitable for your needs or if you meet other lending criteria that would allow you to access your equity. Any repayments quoted above are calculated using your current home loan balance over a term of 30 years. We strongly recommend that you make additional repayments and pay your loan off sooner. If you borrow over 80% of the property value then you may pay an LMI premium.

The property equity calculator simply deducts your home loan amount from the estimated the value of your home.

Calculate my equity equation: property value – loan amount = equity

For example, if your home is worth $500,000 and you owe $200,000 then the calculation would look like this:

$500,000 – $200,000 = $300,000 in equity

Not sure show much your property is worth? We have written a guide to help you estimate the value of your home.

Why is equity so important?

The equity in your home is important! It is usually the biggest asset you have. You should aim to repay your home loan before you retire.

People who have little equity in their property when they reach retirement age, may be forced to either downsize their home or continue working to repay the debt.

Accessing your equity

You can access your equity with a home equity loan. This may be subject to equity release restrictions, also known as cash out restrictions.

The funds released can then be used for any worthwhile purpose including renovating your home, investing in property or consolidating debts.

Please call us on 1300 889 743 or enquire online and one of our mortgage brokers can assist you to access your equity.

Increase your equity!

This is why you should try and minimise unnecessary spending and aim to pay off your home loan as soon as possible. This will also decrease the interest that you pay and save you money as well as increase your equity.

If you are an experienced investor then you can use your equity to help you gear your investments in shares or property to maximise your returns.

  • Brooklyn

    Can I get a cash out from my equity loan?

  • Hi Brooklyn,

    Depending on the purpose of your cash out, your current borrowing and the remaining equity on your property, you could be able to cash out up to 95% of your property value.

  • Reek

    But cashing out equity is risky, isn’t it?

  • Hi Reek,

    Yes, cashing out equity is risky as when your equity loan is advanced by the bank, a large lump sum of money is released directly into your bank account or into a line of credit for you to use later. Once this has been done, the banks no longer have any control over how you use those funds. Banks are concerned that you will not use the funds according to your intended purpose. Some people may use the money to make the loan repayments because they are living beyond their means.

  • Shahi

    I’m Australian but living and working in Laos. I own a house in WA and I want to use its equity to invest in another house there. Don’t need much – around $400k at 70% LVR is okay. Am I okay to do this?

  • Hey Shahi, we can help you with this. We’ll need you full details so we can come up with the best recommendation regarding the lender that can be just right for your situation and loan needs. Please speak with one of our Australian expat home loan specialists by calling our overseas number +61 2 9194 1700 or simply enquire online:
    https://www.homeloanexperts.com.au/free-quote/

  • P Clayton

    What is currently the maximum time period for which we can fix our loans?

  • Hi Clayton,

    You can fix for 15 years but you’ll need to be creative. Some of our lenders can allow you to fixed your loan for up to 10 years. You can then extend your fixed rate by 5 years at the end of the fixed term if you want to fix for 15 years. However, this will depend upon the bank’s policy at that time. If the bank doesn’t allow you to re-fix the loan or charges you high interest rates for it, then you can refinance to a new lender as well.

  • nicholas

    Can I use equity in my home to buy a serviced apartment?

  • Hey nicholas,
    Yes, you can do that. Please check out the serviced apartment home loans page to find out how much you may be able to borrow as well as check out some additional info. Here’s the link:
    https://www.homeloanexperts.com.au/property-types/serviced-apartments/

  • Shawn

    If I own a lot worth $300,000, can I borrow up to 80-90% of that value to build a house on that land? I understand getting it appraised for that value, my question is theoretical. Will it be easier to get the construction loan if the property equity is worth as much or more than the construction loan Im requesting?

  • Hi Shawn,
    Yes you can actually borrow more than the value of the land itself, you can borrow based on the value of the land and total cost of construction using a construction loan.
    However if you’re just using the land equity itself (i.e. borrowing 80% of the value of the land) then we can give you an equity release which you can use to pay for construction without the bank getting involved in the drawdowns. This is easier for you and the builder however it’s an exception to normal lending policy and not all lenders are happy to do this. You have to be in a strong financial position for them to be ok with this. I’ll email you and cc one of our construction experts.

  • Patricia

    Hi
    We owe $374.000.00 and want to renovate our house. House value is around $450-460,000.00.
    We want to do a big makeover but don’t think we will have enough to do what we want. What are our options?

  • Hi Patricia,
    As you don’t have too much equity it may be best to get a construction loan.
    – How much do you plan to spend?
    – Do you plan to use a licenced builder or various contractors?
    – Will you do any of the work yourself?
    Thanks

  • Patricia

    We would like around $150,000.00 and would probably use a licensed builder and various contractors and do some of it ourselves. What would be the interest rate and repayments on this. How does this work?

  • Hi Patricia
    The best way to do this is with a 90% LVR construction loan. That means you are borrowing 90% of the value of your home plus the cost of construction. That should allow you to get up to $166,000. Note that you would pay an LMI premium to do this.
    You have to be a little careful regarding the work you do yourself vs the work the builder does. If the bank sees that the building contract is not for the complete works then they may decline your loan. It’s best that the work that you do be very minor (e.g. painting) or that it is included in the building contract and you then work with out with the builder.
    You can call us on 1300 889 743 and one of our mortgage brokers can assist you to get approved.

  • Patricia

    Thank you that helps a lot.

  • Good luck with your build!
    A few of our brokers are experts in construction. Raul and Tim are both experts in this area and have built their own homes.

  • Debbie Birch Edmonds

    Hi,
    We have 1 country investment property almost brand new owe $225,00 (bought for $230,000 last year) rented for $ 225 pr week Most ;likely hasn’t gone up in value
    Our Primary property is in Melbourne Northern suburbs 12 km from city on a large block Value about $850000 Owe $240,000 Paying double payments so loan coming down quickly Loan will be paid off August 2020 using a lump sum to pay balance. We plan to sell our currrent Primary place in about 5 years when value goes up even more We have already had property developers after our block but will wait.
    How much is the possible highest amount we could get for a loan to purchase a 3rd property WE both work full time earning a combined income of $160,00o pr yr

  • Hi Debbie,
    We’d need to complete a full assessment to be sure as the breakdown of who earns what amount, if you have an interest only period on your investment, if you have children and your living expenses will all need to be taken into account.
    I did a rough calculation and for investment purposes you could afford to borrow over $1m in investment properties. This is making many assumptions including the assumption that your living expenses are low and your loans are all for 30 years with P&I repayments.
    I’ll email you and cc one of our specialists in investment lending. If you’d like a more accurate assessment she can assist you further. Also FYI where you have a home loan and investment loans we can often get a lender to give special discounts across all of your loans rather than charging a much higher rate for your investment loan.

  • Debbie Edmonds

    Thank you for your reply We are lodging an application with a Mortgage lender we have used previously. We just lodge our documentation and he does the rest

  • Kailem Hargy

    Hi we own our home valued at 750,000 outright no mortgage . What kind of equity can we borrow?

  • Hi Kailem
    In most cases it is easy to borrow up to $600,000 (80% of your property value) and you could borrow more however it would be expensive and difficult.
    Many lenders would need to know the purpose of the funds and would need evidence to support what you are doing.
    Of course there are other bank policies which may limit the amount that you can borrow. For example your income must be sufficient to be able to make the repayments. If you can only afford the repayments on $400,000 then your loan would be limited to that amount.
    If you’d like our assistance then please call us on 1300 889 743 and ask for Prakash who is an expert in this area of lending.

  • Dane

    Hi we own our home valued at 1,300000 outright no mortgage. What kind of equity can we borrow?

  • Hi Dane
    The likely maximum based on the value of your property would be $1,040,000 assuming that you meet all other lending criteria and can afford the debt. This amount would include the refinance of your existing mortgage. For large amounts of equity being borrowed the lender will ask what you are doing with the money and may or may not ask for evidence depending on your circumstances.

  • Dakary

    Can I use equity in my current property to buy a new one? I own a house worth $350,000 outright in Penrith, NSW.

  • Hi Dakary,
    You can use your equity for buying another property. As a general rule, it is very cheap to release equity up to 80% of your property value (80% LVR). There are some lenders that will allow you to release up to 90% LVR, however, you will need to pay a once off LMI premium. You must refinance your existing loan as part of the equity loan application. Please enquire online https://www.homeloanexperts.com.au/free-quote/ or call us on 1300 889 743 and we can assist you to obtain a home loan with your equity.

  • Jen

    I own a one bedroom strata titled unit in an over 50’s village, value now about $115,000 and I wonder if I can use this as equity to buy another property to the value of say $280,000 or less. My plan is to rent out the unit in the over 50’s village and use the profit (which would be around $8000pa) from the rental to pay all expenses on the new property, ie rates, water, and body corp if any and personal expenses. The plan is that I would then only have to pay the mortgage out of my income. I am finding it hard to present my case to lenders because I am on an aged pension which is $894.40 per fortnight, but I would not be any worse off financially. At present I direct debit $470 pf for all bills and live comfortably on the rest of my pension. if all my bills were paid from the profits of the rental, I could still afford a repayment of up to $470 pf. Are there any lenders who will consider my case. I have other savings of around $21K which I do not want to use as that is my back up money and I also use this for an overseas holiday once a year. What do you suggest??

  • Hi Jen
    Unfortunately banks put in significant buffers into their calculations so although you can afford this now if rates were to rise you’d be unable to afford it and so the banks wouldn’t consider your loan.

  • Jen

    Thanks for your reply. I knew that it would be no. I will wait until my investment in crypto hits the right price… then I can do cash..