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How LMI is letting more homebuyers in

The days of saving for a full 20% deposit are fading fast in today’s property market. But while conventional wisdom says borrowers should wait until they save it, a growing number of mortgage brokers are flipping the script with lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) to let more homebuyers into the property market sooner. Increasing house prices and rising living costs have made saving a full deposit an insurmountable challenge. For many, the dream of homeownership is slipping further out of reach, crushed by rising financial pressures. “I think it’s fair to say that Australians are in the midst of a protracted housing affordability and supply crisis,” says Greg McAweeney, chief commercial officer at Helia. “And that’s been compounded by the serviceability pressures from high interest rates.” He’s clear on what this means for those hoping to reach the 20% deposit threshold. “Saving for a full 20% deposit, when you add on stamp duty and transaction costs, is really a pipe dream,” McAweeney says. “The rising cost of living has surpassed housing affordability as a key barrier to homeownership.” The data is clear – relying on the traditional approach of saving for a full deposit is becoming a thing of the past. Modelling from the ANU POLIS Centre for Social Policy Research and CoreLogic suggests Australia’s gross median household income level was around $101,000 per year in September 2024, up from $98,500 a year earlier. This equates to a 2.8% rise over 12 months, well below the 8.5% rise seen in median dwelling values.

A recent Helia survey of over 3,000 homebuyers revealed that only 15% expect to be able to save a full 20% deposit. For a couple earning a median wage, it could take 14 years to save enough to purchase a home in Sydney. ANZ analysis shows that just 10% of the housing market was genuinely affordable for the median-income household in September 2024, well down from the 40% of Australian homes that were affordable in March 2022. And yet, while this tough reality is a growing concern for homebuyers, many brokers are working around the problem and helping aspiring homeowners get their foot on the property ladder by proactively leveraging the power of LMI. LMI is emerging as an enabler for aspiring homeowners and investors, transforming traditional approaches, accelerating wealth creation and empowering a new generation to achieve their property goals.

Spotlight

At Helia, we exist to accelerate financial wellbeing through homeownership, now and in the future. As Australia’s first lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) provider and a specialist in the field, we’ve played a pivotal role in the property market since 1965. Helia is passionate about supporting mortgage brokers with educational resources and tools to elevate client conversations around homeownership and the benefits of LMI. Our resource library includes videos, fact sheets, infographics, estimators and case studies designed to help homebuyers understand how LMI can enable them to achieve their goals, whether that’s purchasing their first home, next home or investment property.

Company Profile

Years in the Australian property market

1.2 million

AUSTRALIANS HELPED INTO A HOME SINCE 2010

$249.3bn

INSURANCE IN FORCE

871,230

NUMBER OF LOANS INSURED

$5.2m

AMOUNT OF DEBT WAIVED

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Years of experience

tenure at current position

3 years

career highlight

Being picked to lead ORDE's distribution team

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BDMs in the spotlight

Helia helps mortgage brokers redefine LMI, providing them with tools and resources to help homebuyers understand their deposit options and achieve their property goals sooner

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Aaron Christie-David,Atelier Wealth Mortgage Brokers

Helia

Before becoming CEO of Fundserv, Karen Adams held a variety of leadership roles around the world – and she learned that listening and understanding are key to both providing service and developing talent

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Although LMI is not a new product, the post-pandemic financial landscape has redefined its role, shifting perceptions from viewing it as a borrower cost to recognising it as a catalyst for financial inclusion, particularly for first home buyers and younger demographics. Increasingly, brokers are leveraging LMI to break down generational barriers to wealth creation, reframing it as a strategically versatile solution to address housing affordability. Aaron Christie-David from Atelier Wealth Mortgage Brokers captures this perspective perfectly. “We’re big advocates for using lenders mortgage insurance to get [into the market],” Christie-David explains. “One of our big mantras is, ‘Don’t focus on the loan, focus on the home.’ “There’s a sentiment that LMI is the enemy, an unnecessary fee,” he continues. “But we know it’s near impossible to save for a full 20% deposit when markets are outpacing [savers’] ability to keep up with property prices.”

The power of LMI becomes clear through individual experiences. Peter Kennedy, a finance broker at Alecto Finance, shares a compelling case of aspiring homeowners who seemed trapped by deposit limitations. “I actually had a young couple who were really keen to get into the property market,” Kennedy recalls. “They had strong income, but their issue was they didn’t have a big enough deposit to cover their 5% plus their lump sum of lenders mortgage insurance, which would have pushed the LVR to around the high 90s or 100%. “Then I discovered the Monthly LMI [product] that Helia had just introduced in the market and understood that I could actually make an impact on these customers. Instead of waiting for around four years to save the extra money they needed, they could buy straight away, and that’s what they did.”

LMI is often overlooked in the investor market, but its adoption in this space by savvy brokers increasingly highlights its potential and strategic advantages. “We’ve seen strong growth in this segment in 2024. For aspiring investors, LMI offers the opportunity to get into the market sooner and start to accumulate wealth,” says McAweeney. Finance and mortgage broker Nicole Cannon at Pink Finance uses LMI for investor clients. “They may have a significant amount of equity [in their own home], and rather than potentially purchasing one investment property, we suggest using the deposit [alongside] … lenders mortgage insurance to be able to acquire two properties,” she explains. This can provide a significant to boost to the future prospects of investors. “When you’ve got 20 years left in the workplace, there’s a huge opportunity there to increase wealth, and our clients have really learned about being able to use LMI as a way to be able to increase their wealth,” Cannon says. Christie-David also reports strong interest from investors in LMI for its ability to accelerate goals. He sees it as an area where the broker adds significant value. “Not all things are created equally when it comes to insurance, like any insurance product. There is a little bit of learning that goes on … but investors are really ambitious to keep growing and scaling their portfolios,” he says. Kennedy points to the rent-vesting trend as a key dynamic for investors utilising LMI. “I’m having a lot of discussions around rent-vesting,” he says. “Look at great cities like London, New York, LA, Paris – lots of people there rent because they love the lifestyle, but they can’t afford to buy there.” He assists clients in purchasing an investment property in a more affordable suburb or region, focusing on areas with strong rental demand and growth potential. Then they rent in a location that suits their work, lifestyle or social needs.

Cannon says broaching the subject of LMI frequently involves myth-busting. “We have had clients who, when we start bringing up the conversation about LMI, there is sometimes a little bit of resistance around paying a fee and things like that,” she says. Once she goes through the numbers on how LMI will fast-forward their financial ambitions, the penny normally drops. “It’s selling the outcome in terms of saying, ‘You can purchase in this price range with your 20% deposit, or you may be able to achieve an extra $200,000 to $300,000 more with lenders mortgage insurance’ … and that provides the focus for them.” She often uses the educational resources available on the Helia website to help clients correct their thinking on LMI. “The fact sheets are really, really valuable,” she says, “so we will download those and share them with the client so that they can read in their own time. That way they do not feel pressured.” Cannon can be particularly persuasive when it emerges that she herself has used LMI to put more capital into a property she was buying. “Leading by example does break down some of those barriers,” she says, “because I guess what’s good for the goose is good for the gander … to break down any barriers and just provide that education that our clients need.” One common issue that brokers run into is outdated advice from parents whose experience in purchasing property is often several decades old. “I talk to a lot of my clients about traditional values passed on from generations before,” Kennedy explains. “The attitude is ‘You’ve got to get a home, you’ve got to get a backyard, buy further out; debt is bad’, and all that sort of stuff.” Christie-David also notes that parents can be a significant “handbrake”, often insisting on the traditional 20% deposit approach. “The misconception from parents is you need a full 20% deposit. As brokers, we come in going, ‘That’s absolutely not the case,’” he says. “Parents are a very trusted source of influence, so breaking that down can be a little bit left field for some younger borrowers.” He says some people can come in with an inbuilt perception that LMI is “bad” and an unnecessary fee. “We have to go through this education phase to say, ‘actually, LMI is an enabler’.”

“We’re big advocates for using lenders mortgage insurance to get [into the market]. One of our big mantras is, ‘Don’t focus on the loan, focus on the home’”

“It’s selling the outcome in terms of saying, ‘You can purchase in this price range with your 20% deposit, or you may be able to achieve an extra $200,000 to $300,000 more with [LMI]’ ... and that provides the focus”

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Peter Kennedy

Nicole Cannon

Aaron Christie-David

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La Trobe Financial head of distribution Michelle Bannister shares her career journey, hoping to inspire more women to join the finance industry

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Published 4 Mar 2025

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LMI letting more homebuyers in

“Let’s get more lenders as a group [using Monthly LMI]. Let’s push really hard on aggregators. We really need this solution for our clients”

NICOLE CANNON, PINK FINANCE

LMI affecting investors, too

PETER KENNEDY, ALECTO FINANCE

Christie-David feels that brokers can also play a negative role when it comes to LMI’s image. “I think a lot of brokers have become detractors in the past around LMI. I think we need to be more progressive as an industry – it’s a product that can help people … if we’re not enabling people to get [into the market], then another broker will. It’s really important that we level up our own product knowledge in the industry.” Like Cannon, he finds some of Helia’s online homebuyer tools particularly useful for educating others on how LMI really works.

Challenges around old ways of thinking

Peter Kennedy Finance broker

Cousin of Queen Mary of Denmark on mother’s side

SURPRISING FACT

Aaron Christie-David Founder

Publishing his first book, The Happy Home Loan Handbook (Major Street Publishing, 2024)

CAREER HIGHLIGHT

Nicole Cannon Finance and mortgage broker

Embracing the values of “people, purpose, passion” in business; and her close connection to the McGrath Foundation

KNOWN FOR

Greg McAweeney Chief commercial officer

Launched and ran Ireland's first digital-only bank, RaboDirect, in 2005

FAST FACT

Executive leaders

Advocating for broader adoption

“The calculators, I feel, are probably the most underutilised tools around. People just love plugging some numbers in and working out [scenarios] online – they’ll come back with questions. You can clearly see that they’re connecting the dots in their own head; they just need a trusted adviser in their corner to take them on that journey.” Kennedy wants Monthly LMI to be more widely adopted by lenders given the huge difference it can make to whether a deal gets across the line or not. “The biggest challenge for me is that there’s a limited number of lenders you can use Monthly LMI with. We need to advance this product – seriously, we’ve got clients who are potentially going to miss out.” He challenges the broker community to be more proactive in extolling its necessity. “Let’s get more lenders as a group [using monthly LMI]. Let’s push really hard on aggregators. We really need this solution for our clients.”

Helia supports mortgage brokers through its comprehensive educational resources in a way that competitors often don’t. “Helia is the only LMI provider that invests in supporting mortgage brokers through training and education and developing practical digital calculators and tools,” says McAweeney. “We regularly update our resource library, reflecting shifting homebuyers’ needs and sentiments,” he explains. “We’ve even launched LMI resources in Arabic, Punjabi and simplified Chinese to support brokers with diverse client backgrounds. “We want people to better understand the power of LMI. We need to get over the sticker shock of the fee and focus more on how LMI can help clients get on the property ladder sooner,” he says. Recent research shows a promising shift in attitudes. Helia research shows that nearly two-thirds of buyers would now prefer to pay LMI to enter the market sooner – a significant increase from 48% in 2023. “And this sentiment is more pronounced amongst first home buyers,” says McAweeney. Australians remain short on optimism as tighter monetary conditions and the cost of living have affected housing affordability. Against this background, LMI plays an important role not just as a strategic pathway to enter the market but also as a financial mechanism that gives brokers the power to turn growing despair around homeownership dreams into tangible realities. “LMI lets [brokers] give their clients more options to get into the property market sooner, to help increase their borrowing power … [as well as] serve a wider client base and grow their business as a result,” says McAweeney.

“We want people to better understand the power of LMI. We need to get over the sticker shock of the fee and focus more on how LMI can help clients get on the property ladder sooner”

GREG MCAWEENEY, HELIA

Helia

Company

Pink Finance

Company

Atelier Wealth Mortgage Brokers

Company

Alecto Financce

Company

Introduced by Helia in late 2022, Monthly LMI is a payment option that allows borrowers to pay the LMI fee cost monthly, until the loan has been paid down to below the LVR determined by the lender or until the loan is discharged. Helia’s Monthly LMI offering is currently only available with certain lenders, so brokers are encouraged to speak to their aggregators to find out more. “LMI can be a game changer for homebuyers, because even with moderate house-price growth, they could soon earn back the LMI fee, stop paying rent and start to build a secure financial future for themselves,” says McAweeney. The situation for a borrower goes from not being able to bail fast enough to having the entire boat lifted by a rising price tide. “And of course, as their LVR drops below 80% in future years, there’s always the option for them to refinance as well,” says McAweeney.

Supporting brokers, empowering clients

2023

2022

2021

2020

1965

Helia is recognised by Australian Broker as a 5-star Mortgage Innovator for its Deposit Comparison Estimator tool for homebuyers. Helia supports 42,641 homebuyers and approves 9,064 hardship requests, helping people stay in their homes by supporting loan deferrals and restructures.

2023

Genworth rebrands to Helia to better reflect its purpose of accelerating financial wellbeing through homeownership in the Australian market.

2022

Helia launches Family Assistance, a product designed to help homebuyers enter the property market with the help of family members.

2021

To make it even easier for homebuyers to enter the market, Helia launches monthly LMI – an industry-first product.

2020

Helia (formerly Genworth) is established and begins supporting lenders and brokers to enable homeownership in the Australian housing market.

1965

Milestones

2024 AMA Sprnt (LBH) Best Industry Marketing Campaign

2024 Australian Broker 5-Star Mortgage Innovator for digital Application Programming Interfaces (API) solutions

2023 Australian Broker 5-Star Mortgage Innovator for Deposit Comparison Estimator (DCE) tool

ACCOLADES

2023

2022

2021

2020

1965

2023

Genworth rebrands to Helia to better reflect its purpose of accelerating financial wellbeing through homeownership in the Australian market.

2022

Helia launches Family Assistance, a product designed to help homebuyers enter the property market with the help of family members.

2021

To make it even easier for homebuyers to enter the market, Helia launches Monthly LMI – an industry-first product.

2020

Helia (formerly Genworth) is established and begins supporting lenders and brokers to enable homeownership in the Australian housing market.

1965

Milestones