Finder Score is an easy, data-driven way to judge home loans at a glance. Our insights team compares more than 7,000 home loans across 120+ lenders to give each product a score out of 10 comparative to other products of its type.
This means we compare products against others of its type. For example, variable rate home loans against variable rate home loans, and investor home loans against investor home loans. In total, there are 12 different product groupings.
We filter the loans in our database for each category so that we're only looking at loans that work for the borrower type. So, if we're picking the best loan for first home buyers, we'll only look at lenders that lend to first home buyers and have a maximum LVR of 90%.
The final Finder Score takes into account the product's interest rate and its fees. The higher the score, the lower the cost compared to other products of its type.
A home loan is the money you borrow to buy a property. You save a deposit first, which is usually 5-20% of the property's value and then you borrow the rest. This is your loan amount or your loan principal.
Your lender charges you interest based on the loan principal amount and your home loan's interest rate. The higher the home loan interest rate, the higher your repayments will be.
A good home loan comparison starts with a careful look at interest rates. The lower the rate, the lower your repayments will be.
Let's compare 2 otherwise identical home loans with slightly different interest rates.*
| Interest rate | 7.48% | 5.69% |
|---|---|---|
| Loan amount | $625,050 | $625,050 |
| Loan term | 30 years | 30 years |
| Monthly repayment | $4,362 | $3,624 |
| Monthly saving | N/A | $738 |
| Annual saving | N/A | $8,856 |
As you can see, with the lower interest rate, you save $738 a month – or $8,856 a year.
*We're using the average owner-occupier home loan size from the ABS, the average variable rate loan in Finder's database of the full market and the lowest variable rate.
Home loan comparison is hard if you have no clue what a low rate looks like. That's why we analyse all the loans in our database to find the most competitive rates each month.
The graph below shows the market's lowest* fixed and variable rates for home buyers and investors.
*Rates must have LVRs of 80% or higher and exclude unique or unusual loan products that aren't suitable for most borrowers.
Learn more about finding a cheap home loan
Looking beyond the interest rate, you need to compare home loan fees and features too.
Compare the feesExamples of home loan fees include the following:
Consider the featuresThe following are the most common and useful home loan features:
Look at a loan's comparison rateThe comparison rate is designed to help borrowers understand the true cost of a loan by adding in fee costs over time. But it's only a hypothetical calculation based on a specific loan amount and term. It's not that useful because every borrower's situation is unique.
You're better off working out how much your loan will cost you every month and factoring in the cost of fees on top of that.
On 18 June the official cash rate was held at:
4.35%
The lowest variable owner-occupier rate on the market is:
5.69%
Assuming the average owner occupier home loan size of $625,050 you would be making monthly repayments of:
$3,624
Finder's home loans awards celebrate stand-out home loan products across 12 different categories. Our experts analysed 12 months' worth of interest rate and fee data to find the best solutions for any borrower type. Our team of experts reviewed over 3,000 home loan products from across 200+ lenders to select our Finder Home Loans Awards winners for 2024.
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You save time. We spend 100s of hours researching home loans so you can sort the gold from the junk faster.
You compare more. Our comparison tools bring you cheaper, better home loans from across the market.
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Read more…The products compared on this page are chosen from a range of offers available to us and are not representative of all the products available in the market. There is no perfect order or perfect ranking system for the products we list on our website, so we provide you with the functionality to self-select, re-order and compare products. The initial display order is influenced by a range of factors including conversion rates, product costs and commercial arrangements, so please don't interpret the listing order as an endorsement or recommendation from us. We're happy to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions, but we'd like you to make your own decisions and compare and assess products based on your own preferences, circumstances and needs.
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I have a current mortgage with Bendigo Bank on fixed interest rate of 2.090% which expires in July.
I want to know my options when it expires.
Small mortgage which is due to be paid off in 2029.
None of your options seem to include this issue.
Can I speak with someone?
Hi Susan,
You have a couple of options. You could:
– Stick with Bendigo Bank and either roll over onto a variable rate loan option in July, or choose another fixed rate home loan.
– Refinance to a different bank, and choose either a fixed or variable rate.
Your eligibility to refinance depends on a number of things, including your age, income and loan amount. As a first step, it might be worth contacting your bank so they can let you know what their current rates and offers are, so you have an idea of what your repayments will be from July onwards. You can then compare this to other options in the mortgage market to see if you can get a better deal elsewhere.
Hope this helps!
Useless tool – no way to select weekly payments.
Hi Chris,
We appreciate your feedback.
Our tables contain quite a bit of information in them. In the interests of brevity, we currently allow you to compare home loans by monthly payments. If you’d like to know the estimated weekly payments, you can divide these estimates by 4.3. For instance, if the monthly estimate was $3,000, once you divide it by 4.3, the weekly amount would be $697.67.
Hope this helps, and thanks again for the feedback – we’ll explore whether this functionality can be added.
Many thanks
Sarah
I’d like speak to someone about refinancing a please?
Hi Michael,
If you already have a preferred lender, you can visit their website to submit an application and/or request to speak with their home finance representative.
Alternatively, you can speak with a professional mortgage broker to get personalised advice. You can call one of the mortgage brokers found on our page to schedule an appointment or search for a mortgage broker in your area on Google.
I hope this helps!
Richard
I am an Australian citizen returning to Australia after several years abroad. I will be entering into employment with the Australian branch of my existing employer with a new employment contract (but without a probation period). Can you advise limits to home loan borrowing upon arrival. e.g. is their a qualifying period for work/residence in Australia for lenders?
Hi JDM,
Thanks for your question!
All Australian citizens are eligible to apply for a home loan. This is one of the basic requirements. Others include age, income, and other unique requirements of the lender.
As a friendly reminder, carefully review the eligibility criteria of the loan before applying to increase your chances of approval. Read up on the terms and conditions and product disclosure statement and contact the bank should you need any clarifications about the policy.
A mortgage broker is the best person to reach out to see your options for home loans. They can give you a multitude of options according to your situation. In the meantime, to give you an estimate of your monthly repayments, you can use our home loan eligibility calculator.
Hope this helped. Feel free to reach back out for further assistance.
Cheers,
Nikki
What are the options for Self employed with one year financials?
Hello Mani,
Thank you for your comment.
If you’re self-employed and is interested in a home loan, you can check low documentation (low-doc) loan which is designed to cater to applicants who are working for themselves. Please note that different lenders have different application requirements, so it’s best to check your eligibility and ensure meeting the requirements before submitting an application.
You may check our low doc home loan guide and see the tips on how to compare such loans. After comparing the products in our panel, you can click the “Go to site” button or the “Enquire now” button and discuss with the lender your eligibility.
It’ll be best to seek advise from a mortgage broker and discuss options based on your needs.
Should you wish to have real-time answers to your questions, try our chatbox on the lower right corner of our page.
Regards,
Jhezelyn