Australia's cheapest home loans in October 2024

A woman and her dog enjoying the warm sunshine on their home's balcony

Whether you’re buying a new home or refinancing, a cheap home loan rate is one of the best ways to save money on your mortgage. 

So, which banks have the cheapest home loan interest rates in Australia?

Award-winning Low Cost Home Loans

As part of the 2024 Mozo Experts Choice Awards^, we sifted through 475 home loans from 99 lenders to find the best home loans in Australia. 

Below, you’ll find some of the cheapest home loans to win a Low Cost Home Loan award in 2024, as well as our editor’s picks for this month.

For the full list of award-winning home loans, check out the 2024 Mozo Experts Choice Home Loan Awards^ page, or learn about how the winners were selected in the Awards methodology report.

Low Cost Home Loans^

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Important disclosures and comparison rate warning*
Unloan - Variable Home Loan
  • Variable rates from 5.99% p.a. (5.90% p.a. comparison rate*)
  • Rate discount annually (T&Cs apply)
  • Free extra repayments and redraws
  • Low cost home loan winner - Mozo Experts Choice Awards 2023 & 2024^

Expert verdict:

Unloan’s Variable Home Loan has taken out a low cost home loan award for the second year running in the Mozo Experts Choice Awards^. Built by CommBank, Unloan offers owner-occupiers a super low 5.99% p.a. variable rate (5.90% p.a. comparison rate*) along with a loyalty discount that shaves 1 basis point off your interest every year for up to 30 years. Loan features include free extra repayments and redraw, and there are no pesky fees to pay. Available for loans of up to $10M. Minimum 20% deposit.

Bendigo Bank - Express Home Loan
  • 6.09% p.a. variable rate (6.22% p.a. comparison rate*)
  • Free redraw facility
  • Offset account

Expert verdict:

Bendigo Bank’s Express Home Loan for owner-occupiers offers a variable rate home loan of 6.09% with a comparison rate of 6.22% for a loan term of up to 30 years. This loan also allows for extra repayments alongside access to a free redraw facility and an offset account—all with an LVR of below 90%. Also, borrowers who take out a loan with Bendigo’s Express Home Loan will be able to choose their repayment frequency with choices ranging from weekly, fortnightly, and monthly. Just remember that you’ll have a $10 monthly service fee and an upfront valuation and settlement fee to budget for. Also, if you plan on switching providers or when you pay off the loan, you will have a $350 discharge fee to keep in mind.

HSBC - Home Value Loan
  • 6.09% variable rate (6.09% comparison rate*)
  • Enjoy free extra repayments, online redraw and no ongoing monthly service fees
  • Settlement fee waived for promotional offer (T&Cs apply)
  • 2024 Mozo Experts Choice Award - Low Cost Home Loan^

HSBC is a favourite with borrowers looking to find value outside of the big four banks, and for good reason. In addition to a low variable rate for borrowers with 70-80% LVR, this loan is loaded with features, including free extra repayments, a free online redraw facility, an optional split account and a dedicated relationship manager to guide you through the application process. $300 variation fee for changes to your loan. It also took out a 2024 Mozo Experts Choice Award^ in the low cost home loan category.

Editor's picks: Home Loan deals for October

Mozo may receive payment if you click products on our site. Mozo does not compare the entire market.
Important disclosures and comparison rate warning*
NRMA Insurance Variable Home Loan
  • 5.98% p.a. variable rate (6.02% p.a. comparison rate*)
  • Zero application fees to pay
  • Free additional repayments and online redraw

Enjoy a competitive interest rate on up to a 30 year loan term with the NRMA variable home loan. There is no application fee to pay and you can make unlimited additional repayments to pay your home loan off sooner. You’ll get free online redraw and have the option to add a 100% offset account for a small fee. 10% minimum deposit. Fees & charges apply, Australian Credit Licence 237879 is held by Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited, the credit provider.

Bendigo Bank Express Fixed Home Loan
  • 5.54% p.a. 2 year fixed rate (6.11% p.a. comparison rate*)
  • Offset account and redraw facility
  • 2024 Mozo Experts Choice Exceptional Home Lender^

The online-only Express Home Loan allows live-in borrowers to lock in a 2 year fixed rate of 5.54% p.a. (6.11% p.a. comparison rate*). Other fixed rate terms are available up to 5 years. You'll also net features to help you save on interest including an offset account, redraw facility and the ability to make free extra repayments (of up to 20% in fixed period). You can borrow up to $10 million and have the flexibility to split. Only a 10% deposit is required. Keep in mind that there is a $10 monthly service fee and a $134 electronic valuation fee.

Mortgage Simplifier
  • 6.14% p.a. variable rate (6.17% p.a. comparison*)
  • Free extra repayments, no monthly or annual fees
  • Only 20% deposit required

Winner of Australia’s Best Bank title in the Mozo Experts Choice Awards 2024^, ING is known for its great value products and the Mortgage Simplifier Home Loan is no exception. Not only does this home loan come with top features to help you pay off your home loan faster like a low variable rate, no annual or monthly fees, you’ll also have the freedom to make extra repayments or redraws, which are also free. Available to owner occupier borrowers with at least a 20% deposit or equity (T&Cs apply). Please note there is a $350 settlement fee and a discharge fee of $250.

What makes a cheap home loan

So what do cheap home loans look like? The first thing you’ll see with a cheap home loan is that they have a lower interest rate. Low interest rates mean that you’re paying less over the length of your loan for borrowing money from the bank. Just make sure to pay attention to the comparison rate as this will reflect what you’ll be paying when including other factors such as annual or account-keeping fees. 

Another thing to look out for with cheap home loans is that they have low or no fees. While some fees can seem small or inconsequential, over time they can end up leading to a lot of money going to the bank instead of your savings account.

Loan terms can also make a difference in how cheap a home loan ends up being. While a shorter-term loan means higher monthly payments, it also means that you’ll not be paying more interest on the loan. Most loans tend to be 25-30 years, and while 5 years doesn’t seem like a lot, the amount of interest paid can really add up.

How to find the cheapest home loans

It can be difficult to know which home loan offers the best in terms of features and interest rates. Usually, a good low-cost home loan offers a competitive interest rate and features that can help borrowers to reduce their interest rates or monthly repayments.

One feature that can make your home loans cheaper are offset accounts. With an offset account, you can keep a lump sum of cash in the account which will help to reduce the amount of interest payable. 

Another handy feature that can make your home loan cheaper is a free extra repayments option. With these, any extra savings you come by can help you to pay the loan off faster and can also reduce how much you’re repaying on a regular basis. By paying the loan off faster and reducing the amount you’re paying, the less you’ll find yourself paying in interest which can save loads of money in the long term.   

Who are cheap home loans for?

There are two kinds of home buyers when it comes to cheap home loans, owner-occupiers and investors. For the most part, the difference between these two kinds of borrowers is what they intend to use the property for.

Owner-occupiers are people who take out a home loan to buy a property that they plan to live in. Generally, owner-occupiers will be required to have a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of 80% which means that a home worth $500,000 will usually need a loan worth $400,000 and a deposit of $100,000.

Investors are people who take out home loans so that they can rent the property out (or use it as something like an Airbnb). Investor focused home loans will generally have a higher interest rate than owner-occupier focused loans as banks tend to view these as being a bit more of a riskier loan. 

What kind of cheap home loans are there?

The two main kinds of cheap home loans would be variable rate home loans and fixed rate home loans. There are also split home loans where half of the loan is fixed and the other is variable. 

A variable rate home loan means that at any time the bank can announce a change in the interest rate. In Australia, variable rate home loans tend to be the most commonly held kind of home loan. 

Fixed rate home loans are loans that have an interest rate that is set for a certain period of time. In general, they will tend to have a higher interest rate in comparison to a variable rate home loan.

How to compare cheap home loans

When looking for a cheap home loan, it’s not always obvious that you’ve actually got the cheapest loan available. So, one of the best ways of getting the cheapest home loan is by comparing home loan providers. 

However, it can be difficult to know how to compare a home loan as the cheapness of a home loan isn’t just down to the interest rate listed—after all, a low interest loan with high fees isn’t really that cheap when you look at the long term.

  1. Check Interest rates as the amount you’re paying can make a difference in how cheap the loan is.
  2. Compare fees while fees can seem inconsequential, the amount you could be paying monthly or annually can build up over the life of the loan.
  3. Look for features such as offset accounts and extra repayments as they can help to reduce the interest you would be paying otherwise.

Cheapest home loan interest rates in October 2024

Despite the average variable rate in the Mozo database being 6.76% p.a.†, the lowest home loan rate we track is Homeloans360’s Owner Variable Home Loan, at 5.89% p.a. (5.89% p.a. comparison rate*). 

Out of the offers we track, the lowest variable home loan rates (LVR < 80%, $400K) are:

The lowest fixed-rate home loans (LVR <80%, $400K) are:

Source: Mozo database, correct as at 1 October 2024. 

†Average variable rate based on an owner-occupier, paying principal and interest on a $400,000 home loan over 25 years, with a loan-to-value ratio of <80%. Data taken from the Mozo database, correct as at 1 October 2024. 

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Looking for an even wider range of home loans to compare? Pay a visit to the Mozo home loan comparison hub to view the latest interest rates from more than 90 mortgage lenders.


* 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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