It was great while it lasted, but the rate cut party is well and truly over. Today we look at how you could potentially reduce your home loan interest rate without relying on the Reserve Bank.
A string of rate hikes this year has pushed the cash rate back up to 4.35% – exactly where it was at the start of 2025. Except this time, there are no rate cuts on the horizon.
These rising interest rates are squeezing many household budgets.
But you don’t have to just resign yourself to another round of belt-tightening.
Switching to a new lender could help you save on home loan interest, lower your regular repayments and take the pressure off your finances.
Let’s dive in and find out more.
Are you paying more than necessary?
The good news first.
Australia has a very competitive home loan market.
There are over 130 different home loan lenders to choose from – from the major banks, smaller banks and credit unions through to online-only lenders and specialist lenders.
It gives home owners looking for a competitive rate a decent chance of finding an offer that suits.
The bad news is that so much choice can be overwhelming.
It may simply seem easier to stick with the familiarity of a well-known brand.
This goes a long way to explaining why more than seven out of ten Aussie home owners have their mortgage with one of Australia’s big four banks.
Yet without the cost of a big branch network to maintain, many of the other 126 or so lenders can afford to offer sharp home loan rates – without scrimping on loan features.
How much could you save by refinancing?
Switching to a new loan with a more competitive rate has the potential to lower your repayments by hundreds of dollars each month.
As a guide, MoneySmart says there can be a difference of more than 2% in variable home loan rates on the market.
On the average home loan of $735,000, a 2% rate saving could cut $14,700 off mortgage interest in the first year of refinancing alone.
Of course, not every refinancer will pocket a rate cut of 2%, and there can be costs associated with switching.
That’s why we always weigh up savings versus costs to be sure refinancing makes sense for you.
Who’s got time to shop around? We do
Okay, so you can choose from more than 100 different lenders.
That’s great. But who has time to compare a large volume of loans?
That’s where we come in.
Our job is to sort through our extensive panel of lenders to identify the home loans that match your needs.
From there, we’ll work out which loans could help you save on interest (or match another criteria you’re seeking, such as multiple offset accounts).
Once you’ve selected your preferred loan and lender, we’ll guide you through each step of the transition – and we’ll have your back in the years to come, too.
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