Upgrading in Point Cook — a real example of moving to a larger family home

1) Point Cook in 2025 — who this example fits

Point Cook sits about 21km south-west of the CBD and has grown into one of Melbourne's biggest master-planned suburbs. It has a strong base of owner-occupiers, a lot of couples with children, and a wide spread of three and four-bedroom homes in established estates.

Recent sales show a wide band of house prices, with many family homes trading around the high $700,000s to low $900,000s, and premium pockets — especially near golf course and wetlands precincts — pushing higher again. Rents for three and four-bedroom homes often sit in the low-to-mid $500s per week.

The Point Cook VIC 3030 Property Report digs into medians and trends. This case study zooms in on a common scenario: a local family who already own in Point Cook and want to upgrade to a larger home nearby without over-stretching themselves.

It's not a prediction of what Point Cook will do next. It's simply a worked example of how equity, loan structure and timing can change the shape of an upgrader plan.

2) Meet the family and their current home

Priya (38) and Mark (40) bought a three-bedroom home in Point Cook eight years ago. They have two school-age kids and a dog, and they've outgrown the original layout. They'd like an extra living space, a bigger yard and easier access to their preferred school zone.

Their current home is a three-bedroom house on a 400m² block. Local agents have recently appraised it in the $780,000–$820,000 range; for planning purposes we model a sale price of $800,000.

Their current home loan balance is about $410,000 on a principal-and-interest rate just over 6%, with repayments of around $2,450 per month. They also have $35,000 in savings and offsets, but most of their wealth is now tied up in home equity.

Their big questions for Rate Challenge are:

To answer properly, we start by working out their usable equity, then build two realistic paths and stress-test both using lender policy, Point Cook price bands and the Rate Review Calculator.

3) How much usable equity do they really have?

On paper, Priya and Mark's gross equity is the gap between their home's value and their loan balance: roughly $800,000 minus $410,000, or $390,000. In practice, they can't safely throw all of that at the next purchase.

Step 1: Allow for selling costs

They budget $30,000 for agent fees, marketing, legals and moving costs on the sale. After paying out their existing loan ($410,000) and covering these costs from the sale proceeds, they're left with roughly $360,000 in net cash.

Step 2: Keep a buffer

They decide to keep at least $40,000 aside for emergencies and minor renovations. That leaves about $320,000 that can be used for the upgrade (deposit and purchase costs).

Next, they look at what kind of Point Cook home they want to land in. Based on recent four-bedroom sales in the areas they like, they set a working budget of $1,050,000 for a larger family home with a second living area and better yard.

4) Scenario A — sell first, then upgrade with 20% deposit

First, they consider the textbook upgrader path: sell their current home, move into a short-term rental, then buy the new Point Cook home later with a clean 20% deposit and no bridging loan.

Working budget for sell-then-buy

On a $1,050,000 target purchase price:

• Target property price: $1,050,000.
• 20% deposit: $210,000.
• Allowance for Victorian duty, legals and other buying costs: about $60,000 (rounded).
• Cash buffer after upgrade: at least $50,000.

Those three pieces (deposit + costs + buffer) add to $320,000, which matches what they can safely release after selling their current home.

Loan size and repayments — sell-then-buy path

On these numbers:

• Loan amount at 80% LVR: $840,000.
• Assumed owner-occupied principal-and-interest rate: around 6.25% p.a. (illustrative only).

At 6.25% over 30 years, the monthly repayment on $840,000 is roughly $5,170 per month. Add a rounded allowance of $400 per month for rates, insurance and maintenance on the new property, and their total ongoing housing costs sit near $5,570 per month.

During the in-between phase (after selling but before buying), they'd likely rent a smaller house in Point Cook or a nearby suburb. At, say, $550 per week, that's about $2,380 per month, but only for a few months.

Key pros of selling first

• Clean 80% LVR loan on the new home with no bridging component.
• Clear budget — they know exactly how much they have to spend once their sale settles.
• Often easier from a lender policy and risk perspective.

Main trade-offs

• Need to move twice (into a rental, then into the new home).
• Risk of missing the right property while renting if stock is tight.
• Kids and school routine can be disrupted during the interim move.

5) Scenario B — buy first in Point Cook with a bridging loan

Next, Priya and Mark look at whether they can buy the new home first with a bridging loan, then sell their current property afterwards, avoiding a temporary rental.

Peak debt during the overlap

On the same $1,050,000 target price:

• New purchase price: $1,050,000.
• Current home loan balance: $410,000.
• Estimated selling costs on the existing home: $30,000.

The lender's bridging calculation assumes a peak debt of around $1,490,000: the new purchase plus the existing loan and selling costs (rounded).

How the bridging structure works

The bank sets up a bridging facility that covers the full peak debt. During the bridging period (say, up to six months):

• Interest on the bridging portion is usually interest-only and sometimes capitalised.
• Priya and Mark move straight into the new home and focus on getting their current place ready for sale.
• Once their old home sells (we assume $800,000), the sale proceeds are used to reduce the peak debt.

After applying the $800,000 sale proceeds to the peak debt and clearing the old $410,000 loan and selling costs, their final “end debt” on the new home lands around $840,000 — similar to the sell-then-buy path.

Cash flow during bridging

On a peak debt of around $1,490,000, an interest-only bridging rate of, say, 6.9% p.a. would mean interest of roughly $8,600 per month during the overlap (before any capitalisation or offsets). That's higher than the eventual long-term repayment but is only intended to last until the sale settles.

Once the bridging period ends and the loan converts to a standard 80% LVR owner-occupied product, their repayments drop back to the same ballpark as the sell-then-buy scenario: about $5,170 per month on principal and interest.

Key pros of buying first with bridging

• No need to move into a rental or move the kids' routines twice.
• They can make strong offers on suitable Point Cook homes without “subject to sale” clauses.
• They can take more time preparing their current home for sale while already living in the new place.

Main trade-offs

• Short-term interest bill during the bridging period is higher.
• Serviceability needs to stack up at the lender's peak-debt assessment rate.
• There's risk if the existing home takes longer to sell or sells for less than expected.

6) Sell-then-buy vs bridging — side-by-side on a $1.05m Point Cook upgrade

To make the trade-offs clearer, here is a simplified snapshot of how three common upgrader paths might look on the same $1,050,000 Point Cook home. The numbers are indicative only and rounded for readability.

*Repayments use rounded owner-occupied and bridging rates between 6.25% and 6.9% p.a. over 30 years (or interest-only during bridging). Actual bank pricing, duty and borrowing capacity will vary by lender, product and your exact situation.

In practice, we would run these scenarios through multiple lenders and compare them using the Rate Review Calculator, then overlay Priya and Mark's real budget to see which structure they can comfortably live with.

7) What Priya and Mark actually chose (and why)

After working through the numbers with Rate Challenge and their accountant, Priya and Mark decided to proceed with the bridging loan path, but with conservative assumptions.

Their final plan looked like this:

• Target an upgraded Point Cook home in the $1.00–$1.05m range, not higher.
• Obtain a conditional bridging approval with a major lender that was comfortable with their incomes and buffers.
• Prepare their current home thoroughly (cosmetic tidy-up, styling, professional photos) before it even went on the market.

Three months later, they bought a four-bedroom home in Point Cook for $1,032,000. Their original home sold within the bridging period for $805,000, close to the working estimate.

After the sale proceeds reduced the peak debt, their end loan on the new place settled just under $835,000, with repayments broadly in line with the 80% LVR scenario.

Their ongoing plan is simple:

• Maintain a healthy offset and savings buffer for interest-rate moves and school costs.
• Review the loan structure every 18–24 months using the Rate Review Calculator and the Refinance Point Cook page.
• Consider debt recycling or future investment strategies once their equity builds further and the kids are older.

8) Next steps, calculators and Point Cook-specific help

If you already own in Point Cook and are thinking about upgrading, a good next step is to replace guesswork with a simple, structured plan:

Step 1: Get an updated estimate of your current home's value and confirm your exact loan balance and repayment.
Step 2: Read through the Point Cook VIC 3030 Property Report so you know which pockets and price brackets you're targeting.
Step 3: Run “sell then buy”, bridging and “keep and rent” scenarios through the Rate Review Calculator or speak with us about other tools.
Step 4: Read the broader Home Loan Guide so you understand the moving parts beyond the interest rate, especially if you're juggling two properties.
Step 5: Work with a broker who understands both Point Cook and lender policy, and can explain the trade-offs between different upgrade paths in plain language.

Rate Challenge compares 35+ lenders and works with upgraders across Point Cook, Sanctuary Lakes, Saltwater Coast and the wider Melbourne corridor. The Mortgage Broker Point Cook page and the broader Mortgage Broker Melbourne hub give you more context on local pockets, commuting and lender appetite.

When you're ready to test your own plan, use the form above or head straight to Contact Rate Challenge. A short conversation can give you a much clearer view of what's possible.