LVR, deposit & equity calculator.

Loan-to-value ratio is your loan amount divided by the property value, shown as a percentage, borrow $480,000 against a $600,000 property and your LVR is 80%. Lenders use it as their primary risk gauge: the higher the LVR, the smaller the equity buffer protecting the lender if prices fall. A lower LVR generally unlocks better interest rates, easier approval and no LMI, which is why small changes to your deposit, or to the property's assessed value, can matter a lot.

LMI typically applies when your LVR is above 80%, that is, when your deposit is less than 20% of the property value. It protects the lender, not you, if the loan defaults, and the premium usually runs to thousands of dollars, paid upfront or capitalised onto your loan, where it accrues interest too. The premium scales with both LVR and loan size, so even shaving your LVR a few points can cut the cost meaningfully.

As a rule of thumb, a deposit of 20% or more of the property value keeps your LVR at or below 80% and usually avoids LMI. There are exceptions: some professions are offered LMI waivers at higher LVRs, guarantor arrangements can substitute a family member's equity for deposit, and government schemes let eligible first home buyers purchase with a much smaller deposit without LMI. If you're close to the threshold, those routes are worth exploring before paying the premium.

No, it estimates your loan, equity and LVR from the property value and deposit only. Budget separately for stamp duty, LMI, and conveyancing and inspection costs, together they can add tens of thousands to the cash you need at settlement, and money spent on stamp duty can't also be deposit. Our stamp duty calculator covers the government costs for every state; pairing the two gives a much truer picture of what you can afford.

Divide your loan amount by the property's value and multiply by 100. A $540,000 loan against a $675,000 property is an LVR of 80%; put another way, your deposit or equity covers the other 20%. Lenders use their own valuation of the property, not necessarily the purchase price, so the same loan can produce a different LVR depending on where the value lands. This LVR calculator does the arithmetic live from your value and deposit, and shows how far you sit from the 80% LMI threshold.

80% or below is the benchmark: it avoids lender's mortgage insurance and unlocks most lenders' better pricing tiers. Below that, the discounts often keep coming, many lenders price 70% and 60% LVR bands more sharply again, because the loan is safer. Above 80% you're paying LMI and usually a higher rate; above 90% the options thin out noticeably. There's no prize for an unnecessarily low LVR if it drains cash you need elsewhere, but each band you drop tends to pay for itself in rate.

It's the denominator of the whole calculation, and it isn't always the price you agreed. If you contract at $700,000 but the lender's valuation comes in at $660,000, your LVR is measured against the lower figure, which can push you over 80%, trigger LMI, or force you to find more deposit at short notice. Valuation shortfalls sink more finance approvals than most buyers expect. An independent valuation before you commit shows you where the value genuinely sits, so a low figure from the lender isn't the first time you hear the number.

Three levers move it: a bigger deposit, a smaller loan, or a higher property value. Before purchase, that means saving more, negotiating harder on price, or targeting a cheaper property. After purchase, LVR falls naturally as you repay principal, and can fall faster with extra repayments, or a revaluation after the market rises or you renovate. That last lever is the overlooked one: if your property's value has grown since settlement, you may already sit in a lower LVR band, though your lender will use its own valuation to assess that.

Equity is your property's value minus what you owe; usable equity is the portion a lender will let you borrow against, conventionally up to 80% of the property's value, minus the existing loan. On an $800,000 property with a $450,000 loan, that's $640,000 less $450,000, so about $190,000 of usable equity, commonly redrawn as a deposit on an investment property or to fund renovations. The property's assessed value drives the whole sum, and your lender will use its own valuation when it assesses that, so treat any equity figure as an estimate until they do.

Most refinances work best at or below 80% LVR: you avoid paying LMI a second time, insurance from your original loan doesn't transfer, and you qualify for the competitive rates lenders reserve for lower-risk borrowers. Refinancing above 80% is possible but the LMI cost usually erodes the saving. Your LVR at refinance depends on today's value, not what you paid, so growth since purchase may have already carried you under the threshold. Run current value and loan balance through this calculator before you shop rates.