Here’s how to become a haggling pro and save $45k on your home loan
17 Oct 2017
The property market is an expensive place to be these days, but we’ve uncovered a strategy that might allow homebuyers to loosen the budgetary belt a bit: haggling.
Mozo recently went undercover for our annual Big 4 home loan mystery shop and found that scoring a discount of up to 0.82%* on your home loan may be as easy as asking for it.
“Our mystery shoppers found that the big banks were willing to give out pretty sizeable discounts to all kinds of borrowers if they were willing to haggle for it,” said Mozo’s property and home loan expert, Steve Jovcevski.
“With savings as high as $45,000 on offer for first home buyers or $86,000 for refinancers*, that’s a sign you should definitely be asking for a better deal when you approach a home loan lender.”
The first step to scoring a great deal is to start out on the right foot with an offer that suits your needs - so check out some of the top mortgage offers around in the table below, then read on for our expert tips on how to haggle like a pro.
Home Loan Comparisons - November 2017 - rates updated daily
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Promoted
Hot Deal $0 application fee
UBank
3.59% p.a. variable
3.59% p.a.
$1234
Product details Close detailsUBank UHomeLoan - Discount Offer
Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest
3.59% p.a. variable
3.59% p.a.
Enjoy a low rate Home Loan with no bank fees on variable rate loans. Easy & fast to apply, simply choose between flexible repayments and make extra repayments for free. Winner of a Mozo Experts Choice Award 2019 in the Low Cost Home Loan category.
UHomeLoan - Discount Offer
Enjoy a low rate Home Loan with no bank fees on variable rate loans. Easy & fast to apply, simply choose between flexible repayments and make extra repayments for free. Winner of a Mozo Experts Choice Award 2019 in the Low Cost Home Loan category.
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3.59% p.a. variable
-
3.59% p.a.
-
$0
-
$0.00
-
$0.00
-
yes - free
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yes
-
no
-
80.00%
-
$200,000
-
$699,999
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Variable
-
Principal & Interest
-
Owner Occupier
-
Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the UHomeLoan - Discount Offer
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-
Promoted
HSBC 3.59% p.a. variable
3.61% p.a.
$1234
Product details Close detailsHSBC Discounted Home Value Loan
Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest
3.59% p.a. variable
3.61% p.a.
Enjoy a discounted rate for the life of the loan plus $0 establishment fee when you apply by 30 April (t&cs apply). Get help with the application process with an HSBC relationship manager. Winner of a Mozo Experts Choice Award 2019 in the Low Cost Home Loan category.
Discounted Home Value Loan
Enjoy a discounted rate for the life of the loan plus $0 establishment fee when you apply by 30 April (t&cs apply). Get help with the application process with an HSBC relationship manager. Winner of a Mozo Experts Choice Award 2019 in the Low Cost Home Loan category.
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3.59% p.a. variable
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3.61% p.a.
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$150
-
$0.00
-
$300.00
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yes - free
-
yes - free online
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no
-
90.00%
-
$50,000
-
$7,500,000
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Variable
-
Principal & Interest
-
Owner Occupier
-
Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Discounted Home Value Loan
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-
Promoted
Virgin Money3.69% p.a. variable
3.83% p.a.
$1234
Product details Close detailsVirgin MoneyReward Me Variable Rate Home Loan
Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR<80%
3.69% p.a. variable
3.83% p.a.
With a globally trusted name and competitive rates from 3.69% p.a., you'll be packing your bags with 20,000 Velocity Points for every $100,000 drawn at settlement with this Virgin Money Home loan.
Reward Me Variable Rate Home Loan
With a globally trusted name and competitive rates from 3.69% p.a., you'll be packing your bags with 20,000 Velocity Points for every $100,000 drawn at settlement with this Virgin Money Home loan.
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3.69% p.a. variable
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3.83% p.a.
-
$150
-
$10.00 monthly
-
$320.00
-
yes - free
-
yes - free
-
yes
-
80.00%
-
$750,000
-
-
-
Variable
-
Principal & Interest
-
Owner Occupier
-
Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Reward Me Variable Rate Home Loan
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-
Featured Product
ME3.89% p.a.
fixed 2 years4.90% p.a.
$1234
Product details Close detailsMEFlexible Home Loan
Fixed, Owner Occupier, LVR<80%, Principal & Interest
3.89% p.a.
fixed 2 years4.90% p.a.
Option to split your loan into fixed and variable. Offset available on the variable rate facility. Extra repayments up to $30K during fixed rate period
Flexible Home Loan
Option to split your loan into fixed and variable. Offset available on the variable rate facility. Extra repayments up to $30K during fixed rate period
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3.94% p.a.
fixed 3 years -
4.87% p.a.
-
$400
-
$0.00
-
$350.00
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yes - free up to $30,000 during fixed rate period
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no
-
no
-
80.00%
-
$40,000
-
-
-
Fixed
-
Principal & Interest
-
Owner Occupier
-
Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Flexible Home Loan
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Featured Product
Heritage Bank3.67% p.a. variable
3.69% p.a.
$1234
Product details Close detailsHeritage BankDiscount Variable Home Loan
Owner Occupier, LVR<80%
3.67% p.a. variable
3.69% p.a.
Enjoy no monthly administration fees, and the ability to make extra repayments with Heritage Bank's Discounted Variable Rate Home Loan. Featuring a great low rate, experience the difference this established bank has to offer.
Discount Variable Home Loan
Enjoy no monthly administration fees, and the ability to make extra repayments with Heritage Bank's Discounted Variable Rate Home Loan. Featuring a great low rate, experience the difference this established bank has to offer.
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3.67% p.a. variable
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3.69% p.a.
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$150
-
$0.00
-
$250.00
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yes - free
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yes - free
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no
-
80.00%
-
$150,000
-
-
-
Variable
-
Principal & Interest
-
Owner Occupier
-
Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Discount Variable Home Loan
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Mozo’s home loan haggling tips
Ready to save a bundle on your mortgage? Here are our top tips for haggling like a professional and squeezing the best deal out of your lender.
Don’t settle for the first offer. “Banks often won’t give you the best deal they can the first time you ask - they reserve the lowest rates for customers who really push for it,” said Jovcevski. So if you want to save as much as possible, it’s time to dig in your heels and really work for it.
Be prepared for price matching. Our mystery shop found that some lenders won’t come to the party unless you’re asking them to price match an offer from a competitor, so make sure you compare home loans and have a rate in mind to ask for. The upside is that if haggling doesn’t pan out, you’ve already found another low rate offer!
Bundle other products. You might have more luck securing a big discount if you bring other financial products across to your home loan lender as well. Think about bundling your home insurance, credit card, or bank account as incentive for a better mortgage deal.
Think about other bonuses. Things like frequent flyer bonus points, cashback offers or waived fees can sweeten your home loan deal almost as much as a lowered interest rate. “Don’t be scared to think outside the box when it comes to things that might sweeten the deal for you,” Jovcevski said.
Call in the experts. If the thought of haggling on your home loan has you breaking out in a cold sweat, then don’t worry. Instead, you can head over to check out our Mystery Bank Deal, and snag a rock bottom rate for your mortgage, no haggling necessary.
*Savings and discounts based on discounts from ANZ, NAB, Westpac and CommBank between 11 - 14 September 2017. Potential annual savings calculated for first home buyer on a $300,000 home loan and refinancer on a $500,000 loan over 30 years.
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