485 Visa Home Loans: Borrowing on a Temporary Graduate Visa [2026 Guide]

A 485 visa holder can get a home loan, but the short visa runway is the hurdle. Lenders want to see time remaining on your visa before they approve anything.

Where lenders accept 485 applicants, lending is commonly capped at around 80% of the property value, assessed case-by-case (as at July 2026).

As a temporary resident you also face the established-dwelling ban, FIRB approval and foreign buyer duty until you reach permanent residence.

This guide covers the purchase rules, the lender view of a graduate file, and the real costs. It also covers when waiting for your skilled visa beats buying now.

For the whole visa picture, start with our visa holder home loans guide or the visa buying eligibility tool.

The 485 at a glance

Here is the whole picture in one table. Everything below explains it.

As at July 2026. Lender and government policies change without notice and every application is assessed case-by-case.

What you can buy on a 485 visa

The definitional question comes first. A 485 holder is a temporary resident, and that answer does a lot of work in the rules below.

The rules that apply to you as a temporary resident

Three consequences follow from temporary-resident status, as at July 2026:

• The established-dwelling ban applies. From 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 you cannot buy a previously sold or occupied home in your own name.
• FIRB approval is required. Every purchase in your own name needs approval before you sign, or a contract conditional on it.
• Foreign buyer duty applies. In Queensland that is Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty of 8% on your share of the purchase.

What remains available

You can still buy new dwellings, off-the-plan property, and vacant land you commit to building on. Each purchase needs its own FIRB approval, and land approvals carry construction deadlines.

Off-the-plan deserves a graduate-specific warning. The gap between contract and settlement can be a year or more. Your visa, income and lender policy can all move in that window. So build buffer into both the finance and the timeline.

The partner exception

Buying jointly, as joint tenants, with a spouse or de facto partner who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen needs no FIRB approval and reopens established homes.

For many graduates this is the practical route to buying sooner. Our guide to mixed-visa couples buying property covers the title and duty mechanics in detail.

What lenders will offer a 485 visa holder

The 485 sits in an odd spot with lenders: full work rights and a real salary, but a clock that is always running. Here is how that plays out.

Why the visa runway is the sticking point

Depending on your stream and qualification, the visa might run two to four years. By the time you have saved a deposit there may be much less than that left.

Lenders assessing temporary residents look hard at remaining visa duration. A loan application with six months of visa left is a very different proposition from one with three years.

Unlike the sponsored 482 and 494 visas, the 485 has no employer standing behind it. The file is judged on your own income, savings and timeline.

How much can I borrow?

Where lenders will consider a 485 applicant, expect conservative lending ratios, commonly up to around 80% of the property value, assessed case-by-case. That means a 20% deposit plus purchase costs. Size it with our deposit calculator.

Borrowing above 80% is rare on a 485 and would bring lenders mortgage insurance with it. Check the premium at your price point with the LMI calculator.

Will I pay a higher rate on a 485?

Possibly. Some lenders apply rate loadings to temporary residents, while others lend at standard rates but restrict how much of the property value they will fund.

Which trade-off works for you depends on your deposit and your PR timeline. We confirm the current options across the panel before recommending a lender.

What makes a 485 file stronger

• Stable full-time employment. A permanent role in your field of study, past probation.
• Clean credit since graduating. A file that shows you have managed money well, with no missed repayments.
• Genuine savings. A deposit built up over months of regular deposits, not a single transfer.
• A documented PR pathway. Evidence of a lodged or planned skilled application strengthens the file.

What if my situation isn’t covered?

Lender appetite for 485 applicants is narrow and changes without notice, and a declined application sits on your credit file. Applying to the wrong lender first is the most common own goal we see from graduates.

We check current 485 policy across 30+ banks and lenders before anything is lodged. If your runway is short, a free assessment will tell you whether to apply now or build the file and wait.

The costs of buying on a 485 visa

Buying in your own name means the FIRB application fee, indicatively around $15,600 for a purchase up to $1 million (as at July 2026), plus, in Queensland, AFAD of 8% on your share of the purchase.

FIRB fees are indexed every 1 July, so confirm the current amount at firb.gov.au before you budget.

The visa-status costs at three price points

Indicative only, as at July 2026. AFAD applies to the foreign buyer’s share and other states charge their own surcharges of 7% to 9%. Confirm current amounts at firb.gov.au and qro.qld.gov.au.

What a PR buyer pays for the same property

On a $750,000 new build in Queensland, a permanent resident pays about $19,600 in government charges with the home concession. A 485 holder buying the same property solo pays about $95,200.

The gap is driven entirely by buyer status, which is exactly what your skilled visa grant changes.

On a graduate salary those sums loom especially large, which is why many 485 holders run the numbers and choose to wait. Model your own purchase with the foreign buyer duty calculator and the Queensland stamp duty calculator.

Case study: the graduate who priced the wait

Mei is a software developer in Brisbane on a 485 visa, earning a full-time salary with $95,000 saved. She wanted a $600,000 off-the-plan apartment.

Buying solo now, her visa-status costs would be about $63,600: AFAD of $48,000 plus an indicative $15,600 FIRB fee. Her migration agent expected a skilled nomination within roughly a year.

We built the comparison both ways. Waiting removed the $63,600, reopened established apartments, and put 5% deposit schemes for eligible first home buyers on the table at PR.

Mei chose to wait, kept saving at $2,000 a month, and used the year to keep her credit file spotless. When PR landed she bought with a much smaller deposit and no foreign buyer costs at all.

Illustrative example, as at July 2026. Figures are rounded, exclude transfer duty and legal costs, and will differ for your situation.

The Hunter Galloway process for 485 applications

For graduate files, the first decision is whether to apply at all or to prepare and time the purchase. Here is how we run it:

1. Free assessment. We map your visa expiry, PR pathway, income and savings before anything touches a lender.
2. Now-versus-wait modelling. We price buying today against buying at PR, including FIRB, duty and likely market movement.
3. Lender matching. If buying now stacks up, we find the lenders whose current policy accepts your remaining runway.
4. File preparation. Payslips, employment contract, visa grant and savings history, packaged for the chosen lender’s credit team.
5. FIRB and finance in sequence. Contract conditional on FIRB, with the loan approval timed around the 30-day decision window.
6. Approval to settlement. Valuations, documents and settlement day, managed with your solicitor.

If the answer is wait, we set the savings target with the deposit calculator and book the review for your expected grant date.

The PR horizon: the skilled pathways

For most 485 holders the PR horizon runs through the skilled points-tested pathways, commonly the subclass 189, 190 or 491 visas. Timing depends on your occupation, points score and state nomination.

The 485 is explicitly designed as a bridge to that outcome, which makes the buy-now-versus-wait question sharper here than on almost any other visa.

What changes on the day PR is granted

• The FIRB requirement disappears. No application, no fee.
• AFAD disappears. Queensland’s 8% surcharge stops applying to you.
• Established homes come back into reach. The ban stops applying to you.
• Lending opens up. PRs generally borrow on the same terms as citizens, up to 95% LVR with LMI, and some professions qualify for LMI waivers.
• First home buyer support opens. 5% deposit schemes, the First Home Owners Grant QLD and stamp duty concessions. See our first home buyer loans guide.

How to use the waiting time well

A wait strategy only works if the file improves while you wait. Keep your savings pattern regular, keep every repayment on time, and hold stable employment in your field.

On a $750,000 purchase, buying after PR rather than before saves roughly $76,000 in government charges. If your skilled grant is within a year, that saving usually beats market movement. If PR is several years off, buying a new build now may still win.

Read More: low deposit home loans for the post-PR options, and guarantor home loans if family support may be part of your plan.

Five mistakes 485 buyers make

The graduate files that go wrong usually go wrong the same ways:

1. Applying with too little runway left. Saving for years and then applying with months of visa remaining is the classic 485 trap. Model the timeline first.
2. Signing an unconditional contract before FIRB approval. Apply first, or make the contract conditional. Contracts signed in breach can be forced to unwind.
3. Breaking the savings pattern. Lenders want genuine savings built up over time, so keep the regular deposits going even after you hit your target.
4. Applying to the wrong lender first. A decline sits on your credit file, and 485 policy varies more between lenders than almost any other niche.
5. Skipping the now-versus-wait maths. On a $750,000 purchase, PR timing moves roughly $76,000 of government charges. Run the numbers before you inspect anything.

Next steps and how to apply

Start with your dates: visa expiry, realistic PR timing, and the savings you will hold at each point. The right move falls out of the numbers, not the forums.

Call us on 1300 088 065 or book a free assessment online. We will run the now-versus-wait comparison against your actual figures before you commit to anything.

Related guides

• Visa holder home loans: the full 2026 guide
• 491 visa home loans: the regional skilled visa many 485 holders move to
• 482 visa home loans: the employer sponsored route
• Partner visa home loans: the spouse exception in practice
• FIRB approval for home buyers
• Mixed-visa couples buying property