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When do I pay the deposit to the agent, and where does it go?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 3 September 2026 · 3 min read

The seventy second version. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.

Step one: the holding deposit

Generally, when you get an offer accepted on a property, you're going to be required to put down an initial deposit. In every state the amount is slightly different. In New South Wales it's typically 0.25% of the purchase price, and they call that your holding deposit. On a $700k purchase that's $1,750. In other states it can be as little as $1,000.

It's a show of good faith more than anything. It tells the agent and the owner you're serious while the paperwork catches up with the handshake.

Step two: the rest of the deposit

The terms for the rest of your deposit being paid are at the end of your finance or cooling off period. By then you need to have transferred the remaining amount. If the contract says 10%, that's the balance of the 10% after the holding deposit comes off.

If you don't have that cash sitting there, for example because you're borrowing the full amount with a guarantor, a deposit bond can stand in for it. And the timing matters: the finance condition is the window in which I get your formal approval through, so the deposit and the approval land together.

Where the money actually sits

It generally sits in the real estate agent's trust account, which is an account held for all the deposit monies. It's not the agent's money and it's not the seller's yet. It's held there until settlement.

That amount is factored into the settlement of the purchase when settlement day comes. The bank funds the loan, your deposit comes out of trust, the seller gets paid, and the balance is reconciled by the conveyancers. You don't pay the deposit twice.