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Home loan calculator

Home Equity Calculator Australia

Find out how much equity you have and how much of it you can borrow against. Enter your property value and loan balance to see your total equity and your usable equity, the amount most lenders let you access before Lenders Mortgage Insurance. AUD, no signup.

Free, no signupAustralian dollarsShows usable equity to 80%
Your property
What the home is worth today. A recent appraisal or lender valuation is best.
$
What you still owe on the mortgage. Leave at 0 if the home is paid off.
$
Total equity is your value minus what you owe. Usable equity is the slice lenders will usually let you tap before Lenders Mortgage Insurance kicks in.
Your total equity
$400,000
The $800,000 value less the $400,000 you still owe. That is 50% of the property.
Usable equity (borrowable)
$240,000
80% of $800,000 is $640,000. Take off your $400,000 loan and about $240,000 is the amount most lenders will let you access for a deposit, renovation or investment before LMI applies.
Loan 50%Equity 50%
Total equity
$400,000
Usable equity
$240,000
Current LVR
50%
Borrowing past 80% is possible, but it usually triggers LMI. You have $160,000 of equity sitting above the 80% line. A lender may release some of it, though Lenders Mortgage Insurance is a one-off cost that applies once your loan goes over 80% of the value. See our LVR calculator to check where you land.
Lenders use their own valuation and their own limits, so your accessible amount can differ. A guide, not financial advice.
Simon Chadwick
Simon Chadwick
Founder, Orbit Money
Method: Total equity = value − loan. Usable equity = (80% × value) − loanUpdated: 16 July 2026Sources: NAB, Westpac, ANZ

What home equity means

Equity is the share of your home that you own outright. It is the current value of the property minus the balance you still owe on the mortgage. Own a home worth $800,000 with a $400,000 loan against it, and you have $400,000 of equity, half the property. Two things grow it over time: paying down the loan, and the property rising in value. A market dip works the other way and shrinks it.

The formula is simple: equity = property value − loan balance. The calculator above does this from your two figures, then goes a step further and works out how much of that equity you can put to work.

Total equity versus usable equity

Your total equity is the number on paper. Your usable equity is the smaller slice a lender will typically let you borrow against. Most lenders cap borrowing at 80% of the property value before charging Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), so usable equity is worked out as 80% of the value, less what you still owe.

The formula is usable equity = (80% × property value) − loan balance. On an $800,000 home with a $400,000 loan, 80% of the value is $640,000, and taking off the $400,000 loan leaves $240,000 of usable equity. That is the figure to plan around, not the full $400,000, when you want to fund a deposit, a renovation or an investment.

What you can do with usable equity

Accessing equity means increasing your loan or setting up a line of credit, so repayments rise and the home secures the extra borrowing. Our mortgage repayment calculator shows what a larger loan would cost each month.

Borrowing above 80% and LMI

The 80% line is not a hard ceiling. Some lenders let you borrow up to 90%, occasionally 95%, of the property value, which unlocks more than your usable equity figure suggests. The cost is Lenders Mortgage Insurance, a one-off charge that applies once your total loan goes above 80% of the value, and it grows the closer you borrow to the top. Usable equity shows what you can reach before that cost, and our LVR calculator shows where a new loan would sit against the 80% mark.

How to use this calculator

  1. Enter your current property value, ideally a recent appraisal or lender valuation.
  2. Enter the balance you still owe on the loan. Use 0 if the home is paid off.
  3. Read your total equity at the top, the value less what you owe.
  4. Read your usable equity below it, the amount you can typically borrow against before LMI.
  5. Check the bar and the LMI note to see the split and what borrowing past 80% would mean.

Frequently asked questions

How much equity do I have in my home?
Your equity is the current value of the property minus the balance you still owe on the loan. If the home is worth $800,000 and you owe $400,000, you have $400,000 of equity, which is half the property. As you pay down the loan and the property gains value, that equity grows. The calculator above works it out from those two figures, and also shows your usable equity, which is the smaller slice a lender will typically let you borrow against.
What is usable equity?
Usable equity is the portion of your equity that a lender will usually let you access, rather than the full amount on paper. Most lenders cap borrowing at 80% of the property value without charging Lenders Mortgage Insurance, so usable equity is 80% of the value less what you still owe. On an $800,000 home with a $400,000 loan, 80% is $640,000, so about $240,000 is usable. It is the figure that matters when you want to fund a deposit, a renovation or an investment.
How do I calculate usable equity?
Take 80% of the property value and subtract the remaining loan balance. The formula is usable equity = (0.8 × property value) − loan balance. For a $600,000 home with a $300,000 loan, 80% is $480,000, minus the $300,000 loan leaves $180,000 of usable equity. The 80% line is where Lenders Mortgage Insurance normally starts, so lenders treat that slice as the amount you can borrow against without triggering the extra cost.
Can I borrow more than 80% of my home's value?
Yes, but it usually triggers Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Some lenders let you borrow up to 90% or occasionally 95% of the property value, which unlocks more equity than the usable figure suggests. The trade-off is LMI, a one-off cost that applies once your total loan goes above 80% of the value, and it grows as you borrow closer to the ceiling. The usable equity figure shows what you can access before that cost, not the absolute maximum a lender might approve.
What can I use my home equity for?
Usable equity is commonly drawn on for a deposit on an investment property, home renovations, or consolidating other debt, and lenders will ask what the funds are for. Accessing it means increasing your loan or setting up a line of credit against the property, so your repayments rise and the home secures the extra borrowing. It can be a low-cost way to fund a large goal, though it puts more debt against your home, so weigh the repayments before you commit.
Does my equity change if my property value drops?
Yes. Equity moves with the property value, so if the market falls your equity falls with it, even though the loan balance is unchanged. If a $700,000 home drops to $650,000 while you owe $500,000, your equity goes from $200,000 to $150,000, and your usable equity shrinks by more because the 80% cap moves down too. This is why lenders rely on a current valuation rather than what you paid, and why usable equity is only an estimate until a lender values the property.

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Simon Chadwick
About the author
Simon Chadwick
Founder of Orbit Money

Simon is the founder of Orbit Money, a tool that helps people track subscriptions and recurring spend. He builds Orbit's free money calculators and writes about personal finance for Australian and UK readers.

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This tool is a guide, not financial advice. The 80% usable-equity line and LMI thresholds vary by lender.