— Mortgage Brokers Dee Why

$48,000 is a 5% deposit at Dee Why's median unit price, and it can cover the deposit if you are an eligible first home buyer using the 5% Deposit Scheme, although transfer duty and other costs come on top. CoreLogic's 2026 median unit price for Dee Why is $960,000, the lowest unit median on the Northern Beaches.

Outside that scheme the numbers step up. A 10% deposit is $96,000 and usually comes with lenders mortgage insurance (LMI), because LMI generally applies whenever the deposit is under 20%. A 20% deposit is $192,000, which leaves a loan of $768,000 and no LMI.

Whichever level you are aiming at, the deposit is not the whole cash requirement. Transfer duty, legal fees and a buffer for strata levies need to be allowed for as well. Houses are a different conversation: they sit at approximately $2,800,000 in Dee Why, and LMI is rarely available on loans above about $2,000,000, so a small deposit is seldom an option for a house.

Both federal schemes fit, because CoreLogic's 2026 median unit price for Dee Why is $960,000, which sits under the $1,500,000 cap for the 5% Deposit Scheme and under the $1,300,000 cap for Help to Buy.

Under the 5% Deposit Scheme (First Home Guarantee), an eligible first home buyer needs $48,000 and pays no LMI. Help to Buy asks for a minimum 2% deposit, which is $19,200 at the median, with the government taking an equity share of up to 30% for an existing home or up to 40% for a new one. From 1 July 2026 its income limits are $103,000 for singles and $165,000 for joint applicants and single parents. Eligible single parents and single legal guardians can also use the 5% Deposit Scheme's single parent stream (formerly the Family Home Guarantee) with a 2% deposit.

Transfer duty is the catch. A $960,000 purchase falls in the NSW concession band of $800,001 to $1,000,000, not the full exemption, which stops at $800,000. So a first home buyer still pays some duty, and it belongs in the budget alongside the deposit. Houses in Dee Why, at approximately $2,800,000, are over both caps.

It does with some lenders, who treat Dee Why as a high-density postcode and review unit loans here more closely. At the 2021 Census, 81.9% of Dee Why dwellings were flats or apartments, 15.3% were separate houses and 2.4% were semi-detached or townhouses.

A closer review is not a decline. It usually reflects a lender wanting to limit how much of its lending sits in one area, so it may ask for a larger deposit, cap the number of loans it holds in a single building or send a valuer out in person. Other lenders apply no postcode rule at all, which is why the choice of lender matters more for a Dee Why unit than for a house.

The unit itself is checked too. Many lenders restrict loans on apartments under about 50 square metres of internal space, and serviced apartments are often excluded from standard home loans. The strata report rounds it out, showing levies, planned repairs and any defects. We check a lender's postcode and size rules before an application goes in, not after.

An investor buying at Dee Why's median unit price needs $192,000 for a 20% deposit, or $96,000 for 10% with lenders mortgage insurance added. CoreLogic's 2026 median unit price for Dee Why is $960,000, and a 20% deposit leaves a loan of $768,000.

Tenants make up a large part of this suburb. At the 2021 Census, 47.3% of Dee Why homes were rented and the median weekly rent was $550. That is a 2021 figure, so a lender will use a current rental appraisal instead.

In the assessment, only about 80% of the gross rent is usually counted, and repayments are tested at 3.0% above the actual rate. Two local points are worth knowing. Some lenders flag Dee Why as a high-density postcode and may ask investors for a larger deposit on a unit. And the first home buyer schemes that suit this price point are for a home you live in, so they do not help with an investment purchase. Many investors use equity from their own home in place of a cash deposit.

Our office is at 1/29 Howard Ave, Dee Why NSW 2099 (view the office on Google Maps), open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Call us on 0403 316 686 or send us an enquiry. Our service comes at no cost to you as the borrower, because the lender pays us a commission.

We are Mortgage Brokers Northern Beaches, trading as Loan Market Select, and the broker you deal with is Damian Wallace. You can meet us in person at Howard Ave or talk by phone, whichever suits your week. Either way the process is the same: we go through your income, savings and plans, then compare more than 60 lenders to find loans that fit.

Being based in Dee Why shapes the work. The suburb was 81.9% flats or apartments at the 2021 Census, so unit lending comes with the territory: strata reports, apartment size limits and the lenders that treat Dee Why as a high-density postcode. CoreLogic's 2026 median unit price here is $960,000, the lowest unit median on the Northern Beaches, which makes it a natural starting point for first home buyers asking about deposits and schemes.

No. Our Dee Why office works with home buyers, investors and owners refinancing across the Northern Beaches, from Manly and Freshwater to Collaroy, Narrabeen and up to Palm Beach.

The process is the same wherever you are buying. We go through your income, savings and plans, then compare more than 60 lenders to find loans that fit. You can meet us at Howard Ave or talk by phone on 0403 316 686.