What a comparison rate actually tells you
The comparison rate exists because advertised rates hide fees. Here is what it includes, what it leaves out, and why it never quite matches your loan.
June 2026 Read guide →
Guides
Home loan guides
The parts of a home loan that are easy to get wrong, explained without the sales pitch. Written for Australian borrowers.
Every guide
6 topics · 8 guides
How much deposit you actually need
The 20% rule, what happens below it, what LMI really costs, and the government schemes that change the maths for first home buyers.
June 2026 Read guide →
How lenders decide what you can borrow
Serviceability, the 3% buffer, expense benchmarks and the things that quietly shrink your borrowing power. What actually happens to your application.
June 2026 Read guide →
Fixed or variable — how to actually decide
Fixing is not a bet on interest rates so much as a decision about how much uncertainty your budget can absorb. Here is a straight way to think about it.
May 2026 Read guide →
When refinancing is worth it — and when it quietly is not
A lower rate is not the same as a saving. Work out your break-even, watch the term reset, and know what the switch actually costs.
July 2026 Read guide →
How Borrowers Avoid Fixed Loan Trap Costs
A fixed loan can shave a few basis points off the headline rate and still cost you more overall. That happens when the contract makes it hard, or expensive,…
Aug 2026 Read guide →
How BNPL, HECS/HELP Show Up in Serviceability Checks
A BNPL account with a zero balance can still drag borrowing power down. So can a HECS/HELP debt that looks small on paper, or an Afterpay habit that never…
Aug 2026 Read guide →
Offset vs Fixed: When Does It Overtake?
A variable loan with offset usually starts to overtake a lower headline fixed rate once the offset balance is large enough to stay there, not just appear…
Aug 2026 Read guide →
Where to start
If you are buying your first home, read how much deposit you actually need first — the deposit decision shapes everything else, and the government schemes change the maths substantially.
If you already have a loan and have not looked at it in a couple of years, go straight to when refinancing is worth it. The single most valuable step in it takes one phone call.
If you are comparing loans right now and the two rate columns are confusing you, what a comparison rate actually tells you is five minutes well spent.