The bank's ceiling is not a target.
A lender decides what it will advance by shading your income, ignoring what you say you spend if it sits below their benchmark, counting your credit card limits whether you use them or not, and then testing the repayments three per cent above the rate you will actually pay. This runs the same arithmetic, so you can see the number before a broker does — and see which of those four things is holding it down.
Counted in full.
Most lenders count 80% of this.
Counted in full.
Most lenders count 80% of this.
Children and anyone else financially dependent on you.
Groceries, bills, transport, insurance, childcare, school fees, subscriptions. Leave out rent you will stop paying. If this is below the lender benchmark, the benchmark is used instead.
From investment properties you already hold. Counted at 80% for vacancy and costs.
Assessed on the limit, not the balance. An unused card still costs you borrowing power.
Any mortgage you are keeping. Assessed as principal and interest at the test rate.
Cash or gifted funds available for deposit and costs.
Property, shares, vehicles. Shown in your net position only.
Adjust the assumptions
The buffer is APRA's minimum and has not moved since 2021. Purchase costs vary a lot by state — the costs calculator works out your real figure.
An approval
Every lender shades income differently, uses its own expense benchmarks and applies its own policy to your job, your industry and your deposit source. Two banks can land six figures apart on the same file. This is a planning figure, not a credit decision, and only a broker running your file against a named lender produces the real one.
A recommendation
The maximum a bank will advance and the amount you should take on are different numbers, and the gap between them is where most over-leveraged portfolios begin. Borrowing to your ceiling leaves nothing for a rate rise, a vacancy or a repair, and it ends the strategy at one property.
Financial advice
I am a buyer's agent, not a mortgage broker or a financial adviser, and this page is general information only. It does not account for your circumstances and should not be relied on as advice. Get a formal assessment before you make an offer on anything.