01
Renting is cheaper in every suburb we measured
In all 29 suburbs, the weekly cost of owning at a 5% deposit came in above the indicative median weekly rent for a two-bedroom property. The closest any suburb came to parity was Alice Springs, NT, where renting was still about $240/wk a week cheaper.
This is not an argument against buying. It is an argument against pretending the arithmetic is friendlier than it is — and against taking on a large deposit gap without knowing what the rent comparison actually looks like.
02
The 5% scheme raises your repayments. It does not lower them.
A 5% deposit means you borrow 95% of the value instead of 80%. That cuts what you need up front, but it increases the monthly repayment and the total interest over the life of the loan.
Most buying content treats the 5% scheme as a money-saving scheme. It isn't. It is an access scheme. The trade-off is worth making for many buyers — but it should be made with open eyes.
03
The entry barrier is where the scheme really bites
Across our sample, moving from a 20% to a 5% deposit reduced the cash needed up front by an average of $85,577 — while adding roughly $524 a month to the repayment.
For a buyer who could not otherwise buy at all, that is an easy trade. For a buyer who could have reached 20% deposit, it is usually a poor one.
The full comparison
Sorted by how narrow the ownership premium is. A smaller percentage means renting and owning are closer in cost.
| Suburb |
Median price |
Median rent
per week |
Cost to own
per week |
Ownership
premium |
Premium |
| Alice SpringsNT |
$380,000 |
$420/wk |
$660/wk |
+240/wk |
+57% |
| PalmerstonNT |
$420,000 |
$430/wk |
$722/wk |
+292/wk |
+68% |
| BelconnenACT |
$545,000 |
$520/wk |
$914/wk |
+394/wk |
+76% |
| TuggeranongACT |
$460,000 |
$440/wk |
$783/wk |
+343/wk |
+78% |
| LoganQLD |
$430,000 |
$380/wk |
$737/wk |
+357/wk |
+94% |
| LiverpoolNSW |
$520,000 |
$450/wk |
$875/wk |
+425/wk |
+94% |
| CabooltureQLD |
$395,000 |
$350/wk |
$683/wk |
+333/wk |
+95% |
| ElizabethSA |
$375,000 |
$330/wk |
$653/wk |
+323/wk |
+98% |
Showing the eight closest to parity. The complete 29-suburb dataset is available as CSV.
Get the full dataset
All 29 suburbs with deposit, loan amount, repayment, ongoing costs, weekly rent, ownership premium, and the interest difference between a 5% and 20% deposit.
Download the CSV →
How we calculated it
Every figure below is published so it can be checked, argued with, or improved. We would rather you disagreed with our numbers and published better ones.
- Deposit of 5%, on a principal-and-interest loan over 30 years at an assumed 6.2% interest rate.
- Ongoing costs of $2,400 a year in council rates, a 1% of property value annual maintenance reserve, and $1,600 a year building insurance. Contents insurance, strata levies and loan establishment fees are excluded.
- Stamp duty and LMI are excluded from the ownership figure, because both are avoided under the 5% Deposit Scheme where the buyer is eligible.
- Rent is an indicative median weekly figure for a two-bedroom property in October 2026, not a rental appraisal.
- Property prices are indicative medians for the suburb, not valuations for specific properties.
These are estimates, and they are ours. We are an independent editorial site, not a property data provider. Our medians are rounded planning figures, not appraisals, and a suburb median tells you nothing about a specific street or property. Interest rates move, rents move, and a single quarter can change the ranking. We publish the assumptions so you can substitute your own numbers — and if you find a mistake,
tell us.
What this means for a buyer
None of this makes buying the wrong decision. Most people buy for stability, control, and a place their family can stay for decades — none of which show up in a weekly cash comparison. But you should make that decision knowing the arithmetic, not instead of it.
Three practical things to take from it:
- Check the rent comparison for your actual suburb before you commit. If the gap is large, build it into your budget as a fixed cost rather than a surprise.
- If you can reach a 20% deposit, weigh it. The lower repayment and lower total interest are worth real money. If you genuinely can't, the 5% scheme is a good deal and you should not feel guilty about taking it.
- Don't borrow the maximum the scheme allows. A 95% loan on an income the lender stretched to qualify is the same arithmetic with more risk.
L
lodeposit.com.au editorial team
Independent · ABN 14 127 573 219 · Published 13 October 2026
We are an independent editorial site and take no referral fees from brokers, lenders or developers. We published findings that are unfavourable to buying because accuracy is the product. The full dataset is free to republish with attribution — see the CSV above.
Information, not advice. This index compares indicative weekly costs using published assumptions and rounded planning figures. It is not a valuation, an appraisal, a rental assessment, or financial advice, and it does not recommend buying or renting. Property markets, interest rates and rents change continuously, and a suburb median says nothing about any individual property. Figures were current at 13 October 2026. Do not rely on this index for a purchase decision.