Your selected home loans
Athena is an Australian online lender that launched in 2019. It offers two variable rate home loans – the Straight Up loan for those who want a basic option and the Power Up loan for those who want added features such as an offset account. As well as its variable rates, Athena also offers a fixed rate loan with terms for one, two or three years. Each of Athena’s home loans are available to home buyers and refinancers, and for owner-occupiers or investors.
Automatically drop your rate as you pay down your home loan
No upfront or ongoing fees
Unlimited extra repayments
No offset account
Maximum loan-to-value ratio of 80% required
Athena first caught our attention with its unique rate drop feature called AcceleRates. As you pay off your home loan, Athena automatically reduces your interest rate when you reach a lower loan-to-value ratio (LVR) tier.
That’s a feature you won’t find at any other lender, and it can help you save serious money on interest without having to pick up the phone and negotiate a better rate.
Athena’s Straight Up Home Loan is available to home buyers and refinancers, and it offers a variable interest rate starting at 6.24% p.a. (<50% LVR) and goes up to 6.39% p.a. for owner-occupiers with an LVR of at least 80% – that’s a deposit of 20% or more.
Aside from its excellent rate drop feature, we like that Athena doesn’t charge any fees on its Straight Up Home Loan – that means no application, discharge, valuation, settlement, monthly or annual fees. Just note that you may have to pay government charges such as transfer duty (stamp duty).
The Straight Up Home Loan is Athena’s no-frills option, so you miss out on added features such as an offset account and the ability to split your loan. However, you can benefit by using Athena’s fee-free home loan redraw, which can see you pay less interest with the extra repayments you make.
Your selected home loans
Increased interest rates higher than RBA rate increase amount which I thought was greedy as rates have been steadily increasing regularly.
Athena Home Loans is a non-bank lender and has a number of investors including Airtree Ventures, Apex Capital, Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper, Hostplus, Macquarie Bank, Resimac Group, Rice Warner, Square Peg and Sunsuper.
Athena offers two variable rate home loans: Straight Up and Power Up. They each come with variations depending on borrower type (owner-occupier or investor), repayments (principal and interest or interest only) and your LVR.
The lender also has a fixed rate home loan product which can be fixed for 1, 2 or 3 years (borrower, repayment type and LVR variations available). Each of Athena’s home loans are available to home buyers and refinancers.
The minimum deposit needed for an Athena home loan is generally 20% of the property’s price. The online lender says that in some cases it requires a 30% deposit, depending on where your property is located, what type of property it is or if it’s valued at over $2.5 million.
It depends on what you’re looking for in a home loan. Athena offers competitive interest rates, a straightforward approval process and zero upfront, ongoing or discharge fees on most of its offering. Plus, we’re particular fans of its automatic rate drop feature.
Athena’s Straight Up Home Loan doesn’t include an offset account or the option to split your loan, which may be a dealbreaker for some. If these are features you’re looking for, they’re available with Athena’s Power Up Home Loan, but you can expect to pay a higher rate.
Athena has a number of Mozo Experts Choice Home Loan Awards in its trophy cabinet, which it won in 2020 and 2021.
Here’s an overview of some of the features offered by Athena Home Loans – though keep in mind they might not be available with every home loan.
Athena doesn’t charge fees for its variable rate home loans, but you may face a fee if you decide to break a fixed rate home loan early. Besides this, there are no application fees and no annual or monthly service fees to worry about.
While Athena doesn’t charge you fees, you may need to pay government charges such as transfer duty (stamp duty) when taking out a home loan.
Other costs can include conveyancer or solicitor fees along with building and pest inspections – these are costs associated with any lending provider.
Athena has an innovative pricing system which it calls ‘AcceleRates’, and it automatically gives borrowers a lower interest rate as you pay off your home loan.
The rate drop system is based on your loan-to-value ratio and there are four tiers: 70%-80%, 60%-70%, 50-60% and <50%.
As you pay off your home loan and progress through each tier, your interest rate will automatically be reduced.
That’s quite different from the process at competing banks and lenders, which require you to contact the lender yourself and ask for a better rate as you pay off your loan.
If you’re looking to refinance your home loan, Athena’s settlement team will work with your current lender to move your loan over on your behalf.
Athena holds an Australian Credit Licence (ACL), and as such has an obligation to provide efficient, honest and fair financial services.
No, Athena isn’t a bank, so it doesn’t offer bank accounts, savings accounts, credit cards, or other banking products. However, if it’s a home loan you want, mortgages are Athena’s specialty.
Athena says that if it drops its interest rate for new customers, it will automatically apply that lower rate to existing customers on a like-for-like home loan.
This is not the case with many other mortgage lenders, and it means that no matter how long you’re with Athena, you’ll get the same low rate as a new customer. That helps you avoid the phenomenon known as paying a loyalty tax.
* WARNING: This comparison rate applies only to the example or examples given. Different amounts and terms will result in different comparison rates. Costs such as redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, are not included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan. The comparison rate displayed is for a secured loan with monthly principal and interest repayments for $150,000 over 25 years.
** Initial monthly repayment figures are estimates only, based on the advertised rate. You can change the loan amount and term in the input boxes at the top of this table. Rates, fees and charges and therefore the total cost of the loan may vary depending on your loan amount, loan term, and credit history. Actual repayments will depend on your individual circumstances and interest rate changes.
^See information about the Mozo Experts Choice Home Loan Awards
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