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Guide
How to read a home loan rate table
Advertised rate, comparison rate, LVR band, purpose, repayment type, fixed term, revert rate, package and offset: what each column of a home loan rate table means and how the figures relate, so a comparison between two lenders is between the same thing.
One product, many rates
A home loan is published as a set of rate tiers, not one rate. Each tier applies to one combination of loan purpose (owner-occupied or investment), repayment type (principal and interest or interest-only), rate type (variable or fixed, and for fixed, the term) and loan-to-value band. The figure a lender advertises is usually its best tier: owner-occupied, principal and interest, variable, at 60% or 70% LVR. The tier that applies to a particular loan can be a full percentage point higher.
Comparing two lenders means comparing the same tier at each. The home loan market page on this site is split by purpose, repayment type and term for that reason, and each row shows the LVR band the rate applies to.
Loan-to-value ratio
The LVR is the loan as a percentage of the property's value. A $600,000 loan on an $800,000 property is 75%. Lenders price in bands, commonly up to 60, 70, 80, 90 and 95%, with the lowest rates in the lowest bands. Above 80% most lenders also require lenders mortgage insurance, which is a cost the comparison rate does not include. A band published as 80.01 to 90% starts just above 80.
Variable, fixed and the revert rate
A variable rate can move at any time; the lender decides when. A fixed rate holds for its term, one to five years, and then the loan reverts to a variable rate the lender names in the product, often its standard variable rate. That revert rate is usually higher than the fixed rate and higher than the lender's best variable rate, and it is most of what a fixed loan's comparison rate measures. When a fixed product's table shows a variable row, that row is normally the revert rate rather than a second loan.
Packages, discounts and offsets
A package wraps a home loan with an offset account and sometimes a credit card for an annual fee, in return for a rate discount. The discounted rate is the one to compare, and the fee is in the comparison rate. Some lenders publish the discount as a separate entry against a reference rate; on this site that net rate is shown and marked as net of discount.
An offset account is a transaction account whose balance is deducted from the loan balance before interest is calculated. Its value depends on how much you keep in it, which no rate measures. A redraw facility lets you take back extra repayments; it is a feature of the loan, not a separate account.
Fees
The fees a lender publishes for a product are listed on its product page here as published: application or establishment, valuation, settlement, ongoing service or package, discharge. Fees that depend on behaviour, such as break costs on a fixed loan, are listed where the lender publishes an amount and are otherwise named without one.
A method
Decide the tier you need: purpose, repayment type, fixed or variable, and your LVR band. Read the advertised rate for that tier at each lender. Read the comparison rate beside it, remembering the $150,000 benchmark and, for a fixed loan, that the figure is mostly the revert rate. Check the fees and whether a package fee buys the rate. Then check eligibility: some products are restricted by occupation, employer or membership, and this site lists those on the lender's page rather than in the market comparison.
None of this says which loan is right for a particular borrower. It says what each one costs, in the lender's own published figures, so the question can be put to a lender or an adviser with the numbers in hand.
Home loan rates, every lender · Rates by LVR band · What a comparison rate is · Repayment and borrowing calculators