Usable equity calculator
Put in your home value and what you still owe. We'll show a plain-English estimate of the equity a lender may let you work with — no sign-up, nothing stored.
Total equity
$450,000
Value minus loan balance.
Estimated usable equity
$270,000
(80% of value) minus your loan balance.
On a home worth $900,000 with $450,000 owing, a lender working to 80% would look at about $720,000 of total lending. Take off the $450,000 you already owe and roughly $270,000 could be available to work with — subject to their valuation and your serviceability.
Indicative only. Your lender's valuation and policy decide the real figure — not this page.
Want a specialist to read your full position?
Get matched — freeWhat usable equity actually means
Equity is simply what your home is worth minus what you owe on it. Usable equity is the slice of that a lender will realistically let you borrow against. Those two numbers are rarely the same, and the gap surprises a lot of people the first time they ask.
Most Australian lenders will lend up to about 80% of a property's value without charging lenders mortgage insurance. So they take 80% of the value, subtract your current loan, and what's left is the working figure. Go above 80% and it can still be possible, but you're paying an insurance premium and thinning your buffer.
Why 80% is the common line
It's a risk buffer. If values move down, the lender still wants clear room between what the property is worth and what's owed. That buffer protects them — and, honestly, it protects you from being caught with a loan larger than the asset.
The valuation a lender uses is their own, not a real estate portal estimate or what the neighbour's place sold for. It can come in lower than you expect, which moves every number on this page.
The risks of releasing equity
Releasing equity is new debt against the roof over your head. Your repayments rise, your buffer shrinks, and if the investment doesn't perform the borrowing doesn't go away. That isn't a reason to avoid it — plenty of Australians have built a portfolio this way — but it is a reason to run the numbers with someone who does it for a living.
Next, have a look at what a property costs to hold and using home equity to buy an investment property.
Common questions
What is usable equity?
Usable equity is the portion of your home equity a lender may let you access, usually up to 80% of the property value minus what you still owe. It is not the same as the equity on paper.
Why isn't it the same as total equity?
Lenders keep a buffer. Most will only lend against a share of the value — commonly 80% — so part of your equity stays locked in the property unless you pay lenders mortgage insurance.
Does this mean I can definitely borrow that amount?
No. Access also depends on your income, expenses, existing debts, credit history and the lender's own valuation and policy. This page is a rough estimate only.
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