Gold Coast property: How much you need to save to get a home loan

A new tool has revealed the massive sums buyers need to save for a deposit to get a loan for a house or unit on the Gold Coast. SEE WHAT IT COSTS IN YOUR SUBURB >>>

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THERE are now only five Gold Coast suburbs left where house-hunters can get on the property ladder for $100,000 or less following a recent surge in prices.

A new tool from Aussie Home Loans has laid bare the mountain first-home buyers have to climb, listing the deposit needed to secure a loan for an average-priced home in every Gold Coast suburb.

House buyers with $100,000 in the bank who are required to put down a standard 20 per cent deposit will find their options limited to Pimpama, Coombabah, Labrador, Nerang and Springbrook.

Of those, the cheapest suburb is Pimpama, where a deposit of $93,000 would be needed.

Buyers with $120,000 to put forward will find their options open up a little in the city’s north, with Ormeau, Coomera, Upper Coomera, Oxenford and Pacific Pines coming into play.

A $120,000 deposit will also be enough to secure a loan for an average-priced house in Highland Park, Merrimac and Tweed Heads South.

People searching for a house in the southern suburbs will need to come armed with much bigger savings.

The deposit for a median priced house in Burleigh Heads now stands at a daunting $185,000. In Palm Beach the price is $192,000, while in Coolangatta it’s $198,500.

Currumbin cracks the $200,000 mark, with buyers needing to stump up a deposit of $210,000 to secure an average-priced house.

There is better news for unit buyers, with bargains still to be had, even in beachside suburbs.

Buyers would need to save just $79,100 for a 20 per cent deposit on an average-priced unit in Surfers Paradise, and $72,000 for Southport.

Buyers would need to save $79,100 for a deposit on an average-priced unit in Surfers Paradise. Picture: iStock

David Smith, CEO Lending at Aussie Home Loans, told news.com.au that many buyers are overwhelmed.

“In today’s property market, it’s easy to be intimidated by the big numbers you see on property listings – so we wanted to show Australians the tangible numbers of what it takes to get you to your goal. We think it’s important to show buyers what a deposit of five, 10, 15, or 20 per cent could get you on the map,” he said.

“With two in three aspiring buyers missing out on properties because the market was too competitive, the over half not knowing what suburbs they can afford to buy in, and two in five confused about the current house prices in their desired suburb, the current housing boom is creating a form of ‘progress paralysis’ amongst many Australians.”

The figures as property prices continue to surge, with values up by more than 10 per cent in just three months in 12 Gold Coast suburbs.

The cost of rent has also risen as the city absorbs an influx of interstate migrants.

The housing squeeze has also led to an increase in the number of people without a home on the Gold Coast, with the city’s social housing register showing there are 3173 families in need of homes.

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