Buying a home without the Bank of Mum and Dad
Research from Compare the Market found that 48% of Australians believe they could not buy a home without help from their parents or grandparents. A third have already received that help, or expect to.
Read that the other way around and you get the more useful number. Roughly half of buyers are trying to do this without family money, in a market whose deposit expectations have quietly reorganised themselves around the assumption that family money exists.
That is the position this post is written for.
What family help actually does
It is worth being precise about the mechanism, because it explains why its absence hurts so much more than the dollar figure suggests.
Family help does not usually make the home more affordable. It does not change the repayments, the interest rate, or whether a lender thinks you can service the loan. What it does is solve the timing problem — it produces a large amount of cash at a single moment, which is the one thing a good income cannot do quickly.
So two households on identical salaries, buying identical homes, with identical capacity to make repayments, end up years apart. Not because one earns more. Because one had access to a lump sum and the other did not.
Once you see it that way, the question stops being "how do I save faster" and becomes "what else can produce a deposit-sized amount at the right moment".
The options that do not require family money
There are three, and they work in different ways.
A guarantee. Under the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, an eligible first home buyer can purchase with a 5% deposit and the government guarantees the balance, so no Lenders Mortgage Insurance is charged. Since 1 October 2025 there have been no income caps and no place limits. If you are a single parent, the Single Parent Stream needs a minimum of 2% and is not restricted to first home buyers.
If you are eligible for this, start here. It is the cheapest route into a home in Australia and nothing below should talk you out of it. The limits are the property price caps, which vary by state and region, and the fact that the General Stream is first-home-buyers only.
An equity share. Help to Buy has the Commonwealth take an equity share in your home in exchange for a 2% deposit requirement. Income caps of $100,000 for a single buyer and $160,000 for a couple, 10,000 places a year nationally, owner-occupier only.
A deposit contribution. This is what SmartShare does. You contribute a minimum of 2.5% plus purchase costs, HAS contributes 17.5%, your primary home lender provides 80%, and the deposit reaches 20% so there is no LMI.
The relevant differences: SmartShare has no income cap and no annual place limit, it is not restricted to first home buyers, it is available to investors, and it does not require genuine savings. That last point matters more than it sounds — it means the money does not have to have been sitting in your account for six months, so a settlement, a sale, an inheritance or a smaller gift can all count.
Properties between $600,000 and $1.6 million, purchase or build.
The part people ask about
If HAS puts in 17.5% of the purchase, what does HAS get?
A share of the growth in your home's value, settled when you sell, refinance out of the arrangement, or buy out the HAS position. Not a share of the home. Not part of the title. The value of your home is not shared; a percentage of its growth is.
The property is titled in your name alone. HAS holds a second mortgage over it as security, which is the same instrument your main lender uses to secure their loan. You live in it, renovate it, and sell it when you decide to.
The specific percentages and the exit arithmetic are on the How SmartShare Works page and in your loan documents, and that is where you should read them.
What this does not fix
Your income still has to service the loan. SmartShare solves the deposit and leaves serviceability exactly where it was, assessed by your lender on its merits.
If a lender's view is that the repayments do not work on your income, no deposit structure changes that, and anyone telling you otherwise is doing you harm. The honest version of this conversation includes being told when the answer is no.
Where to start
Work out whether the deposit is genuinely the only thing in your way. If your income would comfortably carry the repayments on the home you want and the lump sum is the wall, you are in a much better position than it feels from where you are standing.
Then check the government scheme first, because free is better than not-free. If the price cap for your area or the first-home-buyer requirement rules you out, that is the point at which the private options become the real conversation.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy a house in Australia without help from my parents?
Yes. Alongside a conventional deposit, there are three routes that do not require family money: the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, Help to Buy, and private shared equity such as SmartShare, which requires a minimum 2.5% plus purchase costs.
How many Australians rely on the Bank of Mum and Dad?
Compare the Market research found 48% of Australians believe they could not buy a home without help from parents or grandparents, and a third have already received that help or expect to.
Do I need genuine savings to use SmartShare?
No. SmartShare does not require genuine savings, so funds from a gift, a settlement, an inheritance or the sale of an asset can be used as your contribution.
Does HAS own part of my home?
No. You own 100% of the home and the title is in your name. HAS holds a second mortgage as security and shares in a percentage of the growth in your home's value, not in the value of the home itself.
Is SmartShare only for first home buyers?
No. It is available to first home buyers and to people who have owned property before, including buyers re-entering the market after a separation.
What if my income is not high enough?
SmartShare addresses the deposit, not serviceability. Your primary home lender still assesses whether you can service the loan in the normal way.