Conveyancing costs for first home buyers, explained

Conveyancing costs for a first home buyer are the fees you pay a conveyancer or property lawyer to handle the legal side of buying your home, and they sit among the upfront entry costs alongside stamp duty and your deposit. The exact amount depends on your conveyancer, the property and the work involved, so the most reliable number is a written quote, not a guess. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission, through its Moneysmart service, lists legal fees as one of the upfront costs of buying a home, and recommends getting help from a solicitor or conveyancer to review the contract of sale before you sign.

This guide walks through what a conveyancer does, what shapes the cost, how the conveyancer fits into settlement, and where conveyancing sits among the other upfront costs first home buyers face. It is general information, not personal advice, and what applies to you depends on your circumstances and your lender’s criteria.

If you are at the planning stage, our first home buyer hub gathers the steps and support that may apply to you.

What does a conveyancer do

A conveyancer manages the legal transfer of property from the seller to you. Their work covers the period from the moment you have a contract in front of you through to the day ownership passes into your name.

In practical terms, a conveyancer reviews the contract of sale, orders the title searches that confirm there are no surprises registered against the property, calculates the adjustments for things like council rates, prepares the transfer documents, and finalises settlement with your lender and the seller. Moneysmart describes this plainly: your solicitor or conveyancer finalises the settlement with the lender and seller. RevenueSA, the South Australian revenue office, adds that where you use a representative such as a conveyancer to help with your settlement, including transferring the property into your name, they arrange for stamp duty to be paid using your funds.

Some buyers use a solicitor or property lawyer instead of a conveyancer. Both can do the legal work of a property purchase. A property lawyer is a qualified lawyer who can also advise on more complex legal questions, while a conveyancer specialises in property transfers. For a straightforward first home purchase, many buyers use a conveyancer.

What shapes conveyancing costs

Conveyancing is usually quoted as a professional fee plus disbursements. The professional fee is the conveyancer’s charge for their time and expertise. Disbursements are the third party costs the conveyancer pays on your behalf and passes through, such as title search fees and government lodgement charges.

Because disbursements depend on the property and the searches needed, two quotes for the same purchase price can differ. The factors that tend to move the cost include:

• Whether you use a conveyancer or a solicitor, and their own pricing.
• The number and type of searches the property needs.
• Whether the purchase is straightforward or involves complications such as a strata property, an off the plan purchase or an unusual title.
• Government lodgement and transfer fees, which are set by your state and are separate from the conveyancer’s own fee.

The allowlisted government sources do not publish a typical conveyancer cost for South Australia or nationally, because fees are set by each firm. That is why the practical step is to ask two or three conveyancers for a written quote that separates the professional fee from disbursements, so you can compare like with like.

How a conveyancer fits into settlement

Settlement is the final stage of buying a home, when the property title is transferred into your name and your mortgage begins. The conveyancer does most of the work here, often through an electronic settlement platform rather than a physical meeting.

The steps run in this order:

If you want the full picture of what happens on the day, our settlement explainer covers it step by step. The settlement process explained The process from offer to keys is also set out in our first home buyer process guide. The first home buyer process in Australia

Where conveyancing sits among your upfront costs

Conveyancing is one line in a longer list of upfront costs. Knowing the others helps you budget so nothing lands as a surprise close to settlement.

The larger upfront costs for most first home buyers are:

• Your deposit. A larger deposit means you borrow less, so your loan costs less, and you may avoid extra charges like lenders mortgage insurance.
• Stamp duty. This is a one off state government property transfer tax. You typically need to pay it within 30 days of settlement. In South Australia, the duty is assessed on the purchase price or the market value of the property at the date of settlement, whichever is greater.
• Lenders mortgage insurance. Lenders mortgage insurance is a one off fee that protects the lender if you cannot repay the loan; it does not protect you or your guarantor. If your loan to value ratio is above 80 percent, which means a deposit under 20 percent, you may need to pay it. Our explainer breaks down what drives this cost. What lenders mortgage insurance costs
• Conveyancing and legal fees. The professional fee plus disbursements covered above.
• Building and pest inspection. During the cooling off period after a conditional offer, Moneysmart recommends getting a building and pest report done by a professional. The cooling off period in South Australia

To see how your deposit, loan size and loan to value ratio interact before you commit, you can run the numbers first.

Try the borrowing power calculator to get a sense of what you might be able to borrow and how that affects your deposit.

Who may qualify for stamp duty relief and deposit help

Two forms of government help can change your upfront costs as a first home buyer, and both have eligibility rules that depend on your situation.

In South Australia, first home buyers may be eligible for stamp duty relief on the transfer of land when buying a new home, including a house, flat, unit, townhouse or apartment. RevenueSA states that this relief is not available on the purchase of an established home, meaning a property that has already been built and previously occupied or sold as a place of residence.

Separately, the Home Guarantee Scheme run by Housing Australia provides a guarantee to your lender so that eligible buyers only need a 5 percent deposit under the First Home Guarantee, without paying lenders mortgage insurance, because the government guarantees part of the loan. You cannot apply directly to Housing Australia; applications are made only through a participating lender as part of your home loan. These schemes change over time, so confirm the current rules and any caps with RevenueSA, Housing Australia or your lender before you rely on them in your budget.

How to keep conveyancing costs in check

You have more control over this cost than over stamp duty, which is set by your state. A few practical steps help.

First, get written quotes from two or three conveyancers and ask each to separate the professional fee from disbursements. Second, ask what is and is not included, so you are comparing the full cost rather than a headline figure. Third, engage your conveyancer early, ideally before you sign a contract, so they can review it for you rather than after the fact.

Frequently asked questions