The average first-home buyer in 2025 borrowed $480,000 from Commonwealth Bank, up from $369,000 in 2021, the bank says.
Its internal data shows they had an average deposit of 16 per cent, down from an 18 per cent in 2021.
"More of our customers are taking advantage of government schemes that help them buy sooner, without the cost of lenders mortgage insurance," CBA home buying general manager Rebecca Markwell said.
Since July 2022, nearly 50,000 CommBank customers had used the government's five per cent Deposit Scheme to buy a home, the bank said.
The Albanese government expanded that program in October 2025, removing income caps and making it available to an unlimited number of applicants.
The program lets homebuyers use a smaller deposit to buy a home without paying lenders mortgage insurance.
The bank said almost three-quarters of first-home buyers in 2025 purchased in metropolitan areas, a trend that had remained steady since 2021.
Homebuyers buying in metro areas took out an average loan of $507,000, compared with $400,000 for those buying in regional or remote areas.
Ms Markwell said homebuyers were balancing a range of priorities.
"Some want to stay close to the opportunities and connectivity that come with metropolitan living, while others are looking to more regional areas where they could secure a larger property at a more accessible price point," Ms Markwell said.
The city of Orange in NSW's central tablelands was the most popular location with CBA's first-time homebuyers in the state in 2025, while Tarneit in western Melbourne was the most popular spot in Victoria.
Greenbank in Queensland, Mount Barker in SA, Baldivis in WA, Claremont in Tasmania, Zuccoli in the Northern Territory and Belconnen in the ACT were the other first hotspots, according to CBA data.
Separate data from Cotality shows that in a few areas mortgage payments for an apartment are about the same or cheaper than the rent for one.
In inner Melbourne, mortgage repayments for a median-priced unit were estimated to be $322 a month lower than the median rent, Cotality said.
In inner-city Darwin and Parts of inner-city Darwin and Canberra's Woden Valley also showed a minimal gap between median rents and unit mortgage repayments.
The result reflects the speed at which rents have surged - with the national index up 5.5 per cent up over the year - compared with more moderate gains in unit values.
The data does not include the other costs of ownership, such as deposits, rates, insurance, body corporate fees and maintenance.
Detached houses remain significantly more expensive to purchase than rent across all capital city regions.
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