Steps to buying a house
The sequence from first thinking about it to having keys in hand. Roughly 6-12 months for most Australian buyers, this is what each stage looks like.
1. Borrowing capacity check (week 1)
Before you walk into open homes, get a realistic borrowing capacity estimate. A lender will need your income, debts, and rough living expenses. The number you're given is the upper bound, most buyers borrow 80-90% of their stated capacity to leave breathing room.
2. Deposit + savings audit (weeks 2-4)
Confirm you have at least 5% genuine savings (held in your name for 3+ months) plus enough to cover stamp duty, conveyancing, building & pest inspection, and a buffer for moving costs. The First Home Owner Grant and stamp duty concessions vary by state, check what your state offers.
3. Pre-approval (weeks 4-6)
Get a credit-assessed pre-approval from a lender that suits your scenario. This becomes your auction-day passport.
4. House hunting (months 2-6)
Set up alerts on Domain and realestate.com.au. Inspect 20-40 properties before bidding seriously, you need a feel for what value looks like in your suburb. For each suburb you're targeting, pull 3-month median sales data so you know whether the asking prices are realistic.
5. Offer / auction (when you find it)
Auction: pre-approval in hand, conveyancer briefed in advance, building & pest done before the auction (you can't get a cooling-off period at auction). Private treaty: make a written offer subject to finance and B&P inspection. NSW + ACT contracts include a 5-business-day cooling-off period, other states vary.
6. Unconditional + settlement (4-8 weeks)
Once accepted, your conveyancer handles the contract review and settlement booking. Your lender finalises the formal approval (sometimes called "unconditional") within 1-3 weeks. Settlement is typically 30-42 days from contract signing.
For pre-approval, serviceability, valuation and settlement in more detail, see Ratesniffers' loan application and approval hub.
References
- ASIC MoneySmart: Buying a home, Plain-English overview of the buying journey
- NSW Revenue: Calculate transfer duty, NSW stamp duty rates
- VIC State Revenue Office: Land transfer (stamp) duty, Victoria stamp duty rules and concessions
- Housing Australia: First Home Guarantee, Federal scheme that lets eligible buyers settle with a 5% deposit
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