Home loans
Buying, refinancing, or getting off a rate you've stopped noticing
Purchase, refinance and investment lending across bank and non-bank lenders. With the cash rate held at 4.35%, the difference between a competitive rate and a complacent one is worth real money.
Where we're most useful
Refinancing. The gap between what new customers are offered and what existing customers quietly keep paying is well documented — ASIC's pricing inquiry put it at roughly 0.30% to 0.50% at the major banks. On a typical balance that's thousands of dollars a year, and it accrues to people who simply never checked.
Anything non-standard. Self-employed income, a recent job change, a blemish on your file, an investment portfolio near the new debt-to-income limits. These are where lender policy diverges most, and where applying blind is most likely to waste an enquiry on your credit file.
First purchases. Deposit structure, LMI, and which government schemes you actually qualify for — worth getting right before you're negotiating on a property.
The 2026 lending environment
Three rate rises in the first half of 2026 took the cash rate from 3.60% to 4.35%, and it has been held at that level since June. The major banks now expect the next move to be down, but not before 2027. Meanwhile APRA's debt-to-income cap, in force since February, has tightened borrowing capacity at the banks specifically.
The practical consequence is that borrowing capacity is lower than many people assume, and the lender that will lend you the most is often not the one you bank with.
Check your own rate first
Before doing anything else, find your current interest rate — it's on your last statement or in your banking app. A surprising number of people don't know it. If it starts with a 7, it is very likely worth a conversation.
Borrowing power estimate
A rough guide to what a lender might consider. Every lender assesses differently.
- Monthly surplus used
- $0
- Assessed at (rate + 3% buffer)
- 9.25%
- Repayment at actual rate, 30 yrs
- $0.00
Extra repayments calculator
See what paying a little more each month does to your loan.
- Interest saved
- $0
- Minimum repayment
- $0.00
- New repayment
- $0.00
- Loan paid off in
- —
Costs people forget
Budget for these, not just the deposit
Stamp duty
Varies by state and by whether you're a first home buyer. Frequently the largest single upfront cost after the deposit.
LMI
Applies below a 20% deposit at most lenders. Usually capitalised onto the loan, which means you pay interest on it for years.
Legal & conveyancing
Plus building and pest inspections, which are cheap relative to what they can save you.
Loan fees
Application, valuation, settlement and any ongoing package fee. These are what the comparison rate is designed to surface.
FAQ
Home loan questions
How much deposit do I need?
Twenty per cent of the purchase price avoids Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which is the clean answer. Below that, most lenders will still consider you, but LMI is added — it can run to several thousand dollars and is usually capitalised onto the loan. Some professions and government schemes allow smaller deposits without LMI.
What is the APRA debt-to-income cap?
From 1 February 2026, APRA requires banks to cap new mortgages where a borrower's total debt exceeds six times their income to no more than 20% of their new lending. In practice that makes major banks more restrictive for higher-income borrowers with existing debts and for investors near the threshold. Non-bank lenders are not bound in the same way, so some borrowers who would previously have been approved at a major bank now get a better outcome elsewhere.
Is it worth refinancing?
Often, yes. ASIC's mortgage pricing work found existing customers at the major banks pay on average around 0.30% to 0.50% more than new customers on equivalent loans. On a $500,000 balance that gap is meaningful. Weigh it against discharge fees, any fixed-rate break cost, and the new lender's setup costs.
Fixed or variable?
Fixed rates are priced on expectations of where the cash rate is heading, so any move the market already anticipates is usually built into the price. Fixed buys certainty, not a guaranteed saving, and typically restricts extra repayments and offset. Roughly half of Australian mortgage holders currently say they intend to stay variable. A split loan hedges both ways.
Can I consolidate other debts into my home loan?
Yes, and it's worth being careful about. The rate is much lower, but spreading a short-term debt across 25 remaining years can cost more in total interest, and it converts unsecured debt into debt secured against your home. If you do it, splitting the consolidated amount into a separate shorter sub-account is the sensible structure.
Find out what you could borrow, and at what rate
A conversation about your situation before anything is lodged anywhere.
Checking your options does not affect your credit score. A credit check is only done if you decide to apply with a lender.