How much deposit do you need for a $700,000 house?
A conventional 20% deposit on a $700,000 home is $140,000, plus purchase costs on top. Stamp duty alone is commonly around 4% depending on your state and any concession you qualify for, so the real number you need at settlement is closer to $168,000.
That is the figure most buyers are quietly measuring themselves against, and it is the reason so many stall.
Below is the same purchase run two ways: the conventional route, and the same home with a structured deposit. Every number is shown. The scenario is illustrative — it is built to show the structure, not to describe a specific client.
The situation
Daniel and Priya are an essential-worker couple, a teacher and a paramedic. Two steady, reliable incomes. Between rent and living costs, saving a full deposit has felt like running up a downward escalator.
The home they want is $700,000. After years of trying, their savings sit at $17,500.
Route one: save the conventional deposit
They need $140,000 for the deposit and roughly $28,000 in stamp duty and costs. They have $17,500.
The gap is about $150,000.
On Domain's 2026 First Home Buyer Report figures, a young couple saving for an entry-level house needs around five years nationally, and considerably longer in the larger capitals — seven years and seven months in Sydney, more than six in Brisbane.
And here is the part that makes it worse rather than merely slow. Over the same five-year window, entry-level house prices rose 68% while wages rose 21%. The target is moving away from them while they save towards it. There is more on that arithmetic in how long it really takes to save a deposit.
Route two: the same home, structured differently
Primary home lender (80% LVR): $560,000
HAS deposit contribution (17.5%): $122,500
Daniel and Priya's contribution (2.5%): $17,500
= a 20% deposit, no LMI
Their $17,500 is already exactly the 2.5% contribution required on a $700,000 purchase. What they still need to fund separately is purchase costs — stamp duty and settlement expenses — which do not come out of the deposit structure.
Three things fall out of that table.
There is no Lenders Mortgage Insurance, because the deposit reaches 20%. On a high-LVR purchase at this price point, LMI commonly runs into five figures and is usually added onto the loan, so it is a cost that compounds rather than a cost that ends.
Their primary home lender's loan sits at 80% LVR. That is a conservative application rather than a stretched one.
And their repayments are reduced for the first five years, which is real breathing room in the period when moving costs, furniture and the general expense of a new home all land at once.
What they gave up
A share of the growth in the home's value, settled when they sell, refinance out of the arrangement, or buy out the HAS position.
Not a share of the home. The property is titled in their names alone. HAS holds a second mortgage as security — the same instrument their main lender holds. The value of the home is not shared; a percentage of its growth is.
The specific percentages and the exit maths sit on the How SmartShare Works page and in the loan documents.
The comparison, plainly
ConventionalStructured depositCash needed for deposit$140,000$17,500Purchase costs (approx.)$28,000$28,000LMINone at 20%NoneTime to get there~5 years, longer in SydneyNow, if serviceability worksTrade-offYears of rent paid meanwhileA share of future growth
Neither column is free. The conventional route costs five years of rent and five years of price movement. The structured route costs a share of growth you have not earned yet.
Which one is better depends on your numbers and your circumstances, and it is worth working through with someone rather than deciding from a table.
The test worth applying
Ask whether your income would comfortably service the loan on the home you want. If it would, and the deposit is the only obstacle, this is a structure worth understanding properly.
If it would not, then the answer is a smaller target rather than a different deposit, and any provider worth dealing with will tell you that early.
Frequently asked questions
How much deposit do I need for a $700,000 house?
A conventional 20% deposit is $140,000, plus purchase costs including stamp duty of commonly around 4%. Through SmartShare, the required contribution is 2.5% — $17,500 on a $700,000 purchase — plus purchase costs.
Do I still pay stamp duty with a low deposit?
Yes. Stamp duty and other purchase costs are separate from the deposit and must be funded by you. Concessions vary by state and by buyer type.
Will I pay LMI on a $700,000 purchase with a small deposit?
Not under SmartShare. Because your contribution and the HAS contribution together bring the deposit to 20%, your primary home lender's loan sits at 80% LVR and LMI does not apply. On a conventional high-LVR loan at this price point, LMI commonly runs into five figures.
Is this a real client?
No. The scenario is illustrative and is built to demonstrate the structure.
What happens when Daniel and Priya sell?
They repay the HAS contribution and its agreed share of the growth in the home's value, and keep the balance, including the equity built through their own repayments.
Check if I qualify → Get started, or read what other buyers have said.