Fixed versus variable home loan: Which is right for you?
Fixed rates offer more certainty because repayments don't change. But you can repay a variable rate faster and these loans usually have lower interest rates.
Variable home loans often offer lower rates, greater flexibility and easier refinancing options.
Fixed rates provide repayment certainty but typically have fewer features and higher exit fees.
Consider a split loan to combine the certainty of fixed with variable rate flexibility.
What's the difference between fixed and variable interest rates?
In short, variable rates are those that can move up or down during the life of your home loan. This usually happens when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) changes the national cash rate.
Fixed rates stay the same for a chosen fixed period (usually 1 - 5 years). Although this means your interest rate won't be affected when rates are rising, they also won't go down when rates are falling.
Let's take a deeper dive:
Variable
Lower fees. Competitive variable loans often come with lower fees than their fixed rate equivalents.
Refinancing. It's easier to refinance a variable rate mortgage.
More flexible. Many variable rate loans come with flexible repayment options and let you make extra repayments.
Changes. Your lender can change your interest rate at any time (up or down).
Watch your rate. You need to keep an eye on your interest rate and consider switching if it gets too high.
Fixed
No change. Your interest rate won't change at all during the fixed period.
Less to worry about. You can "set and forget" your rate and never have to worry about it changing during the fixed period.
Higher fees. Fixed rate loans often have higher exit fees.
Refinancing. It's often harder to refinance to another loan during the fixed rate period because of fixed loan break costs.
Fewer features. Fixed rate loans are less likely to have offset accounts or redraw facilities.
Did you know?
When the fixed period on a home loan ends, it reverts to a variable rate. As most home loans have 30-year terms, even if you do fix your rate for a few years, most of your loan will end up being variable anyway.
"I locked in my home loan at 1.98% for 3 years in December 2021, which means I benefitted from three years of super low rates. A month after we locked it in, rates when up to 2.59% and by the time the fixed rate ended late 2024, it was at 6.59%! The situation has changed a lot now, and I wouldn't fix again while we're in a rate drop environment. But we were very lucky with the timing, and saved tens of thousands of dollars."
The real question is what do you want from your home loan. This helps you decide which rate type suits you best.
Here are some examples to help you think about your own situation.
I want to know exactly what my repayments are each month. You might want to go with a fixed rate loan. With the certainty of an unchanging rate you can budget safe in the knowledge that your repayments won't vary. This means you can basically forget about your home loan for the fixed period.
I want the lowest possible rate and I'm happy to switch lenders. Go with a variable loan (probably). Variable rates are usually more competitive than fixed rates, although that's not always the case. But if you're a deal hunter who's always after a lower rate and is happy to compare and refinance regularly, then a variable mortgage probably gives you more options and is easier to refinance.
I want to repay my loan as quickly as possible. In this case you want the lowest interest rate and a mortgage which allows for extra repayments. This is more likely a variable rate but some fixed rate loans allow extra repayments too.
I may need to refinance my loan soon or sell my property. If you think you're likely to exit a home loan soon, either by repaying it, selling the house or refinancing for some other reason, you probably want a variable rate loan. This is because a fixed rate loan has break costs that can run to thousands of dollars.
If you still can't decide which rate type is right for you, there's a third option.
The third option: Split rates
If you really like the idea of fixing your interest rate, but you don't want to lose the flexible features available on your variable loan, you can choose to split your home loan.
A split rate home loan is when you divide your loan into two (or more) portions; one locked into a fixed rate and the other variable.
This lets you enjoy some of the advantages of both rate types at the same time.
Fixed? Variable? Split?
Can't decide? Compare all your rate options in one place.
There's really no good or bad time to fix your home loan rate. It depends on your goal and it's hard to time when rates might start moving.
Fixing interest rates worked well for borrowers in 2020 and 2021 when some interest rates were below 2%. Fixing then meant they were in a stable position at a time when there was so much uncertainty.
It also put them in a great position for when interest rates began rising in 2022.
But over the last few years, interest rate movements have been particularly unpredictable for the long-term.
Fixing your home loan rate now should be to lock in repayments you know you're comfortable with, rather than worrying about being on the lowest rate.
Frequently asked questions about choosing between a fixed or variable interest rate
Whether a fixed or variable interest rate is better depends on the market at the time, as you can see from the graph above.
Banks know how to price their loans. Fixed rates are often lower at a time when they want to entice you to lock in. So you may find that variable rates are lower than fixed rates when interest rates are going up and fixed rates are lower when interest rates are going down. But this will depend on market conditions and the fixed rate period you choose.
Break costs are the fees charged when a home loan is paid out early. These costs are mostly associated with fixed rate home loans. If you repay or refinance your home loan within the fixed rate period there can be considerable break costs. Variable rate home loans usually have more flexibility and won't charge you to end the loan early.
Most fixed rate home loans don't come with an offset account. Offset accounts are usually a feature of variable rate home loans.
However, it's becoming more common to see fixed rate home loans with offset accounts. You can search for fixed rates with offset accounts by heading to the fixed rate comparison page and filtering for products with the offset account feature.
This will depend on the home loan that you have. Fixed rate home loans normally have more restrictions around the amount of extra repayments you can make. It's typically around $20,000 a year.
You may then be able to redraw from those repayments, but you'll need to check with your provider whether there's a fee or a redraw limit.
Richard Whitten is Finder’s Senior Money Editor, with over eight years of experience in home loans, property, credit cards and personal finance. His insights appear in top media outlets like Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine, and the Herald Sun, and he frequently offers expert commentary on television and radio, helping Australians navigate mortgages and property ownership. Richard started his career in education and textbook publishing in South Korea. He holds multiple industry certifications, including a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking (RG 206) and Tier 1 and Tier 2 certifications (RG 146), as well as a Bachelor of Education from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Communications from Deakin University.
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If we sell our house after 5 years and our loan is variable over 25 years do we have to pay the whole interest owing for total of 25 years or does the bank work out interest owing for 5 years and penalty fees?
JodieNovember 25, 2015
Hi Cath,
Thank you for reaching out to finder.com.au a financial comparison website.
If you have been repaying your loan with principal and interest repayments you will only be repaying the remaining principal and interest amount that you owe to the lender, they will not also work out how much interest you would have repaid during the life of your loan.
You may be able to ask your lender for a payout amount for a specific date to give you an idea of how much you will repay.
Learn how to compare rates to find the best home loan and start saving money on your mortgage today.
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If we sell our house after 5 years and our loan is variable over 25 years do we have to pay the whole interest owing for total of 25 years or does the bank work out interest owing for 5 years and penalty fees?
Hi Cath,
Thank you for reaching out to finder.com.au a financial comparison website.
If you have been repaying your loan with principal and interest repayments you will only be repaying the remaining principal and interest amount that you owe to the lender, they will not also work out how much interest you would have repaid during the life of your loan.
You may be able to ask your lender for a payout amount for a specific date to give you an idea of how much you will repay.
Regards
Jodie
Regards
Jodie