Preparing financially
Comparing home loans
A practical process for shortlisting, comparing and getting a personalised quote from multiple lenders — not just accepting the first rate you're offered.
Key points
- Fix one comparison scenario first — same purpose, loan amount, LVR, term and repayment type — before comparing rates across lenders.
- A comparison rate measures cost using a standard example; it depends on that example's assumptions and doesn't capture every fee or feature.
- A displayed monthly repayment is an estimate, not necessarily what you'll actually be offered once a lender assesses your specific application.
- Ask each shortlisted lender for a Home Loan Key Facts Sheet — a standardised format that makes side-by-side comparison genuinely like-for-like.
- Comparison websites are a useful starting shortlist, not a final verdict — check their coverage and ranking method, since they can earn money from promoted listings.
Compare at least two or three lenders
Comparing loans from at least two different lenders — not just accepting the first offer or your existing bank's rate — is standard, sensible practice (ASIC (Moneysmart), verified 29 Jul 2026). Comparison websites can be a useful starting point, but they are commercial businesses that may earn money through promoted listings and may not cover every lender in the market — check what they actually cover and how they rank results, and treat their output as a starting shortlist, not a final verdict.
Define one comparison scenario first
Before comparing anything, fix the same assumptions across every loan you look at: purpose (owner-occupier or investment), loan amount, LVR, term, repayment type and the features you actually need. A rate quoted against a different LVR or loan amount isn't a fair comparison, even if it looks cheaper on paper.
What to line up side by side
Interest rate — the headline rate advertised.
Comparison rate — the interest rate plus most (not all) fees, calculated on a standard example, so it measures cost, not features — the actual figures depend on the assumptions used in that example, and it can differ if your loan amount or term does.
Estimated monthly repayment — an estimate based on advertised terms, not necessarily what you'll actually be offered once a lender assesses your specific application.
Application fee — one-off cost to start the loan.
Ongoing fees — charged monthly or annually for administering the loan.
Loan term — how long the loan runs.
Features — offset, redraw, extra repayments, portability — and any fees attached to using them (ASIC (Moneysmart), verified 29 Jul 2026).
Ask for a Home Loan Key Facts Sheet
For standard home loans, lenders are required to be able to generate a Home Loan Key Facts Sheet — a standardised document showing rate, fees, comparison rate and total repayments in the same format across lenders (Federal Register of Legislation, verified 28 Oct 2026). Requesting one for each shortlisted loan, using the same loan amount and term, makes side-by-side comparison genuinely like-for-like rather than relying on marketing pages.
A practical comparison approach
Shortlist two or three loans using a comparison site, filtered to your defined scenario and the features you've decided you actually need — not everything on offer. Use a mortgage calculator to estimate the total cost of each over your expected term, but don't assume a variable rate stays at today's level for the whole term — model at least one higher-rate scenario too. Then approach each shortlisted lender directly for a written, personalised quote (or Key Facts Sheet) before deciding — advertised rates aren't always the rate you're actually offered once your application is assessed.
With a written quote in hand, the loan quote check puts its interest rate next to what new borrowers paid on average for a similar loan in the latest month the Reserve Bank has published, and works out what the difference costs in interest.
Common mistake: treating a displayed "monthly repayment" figure as the actual amount you'll pay, or comparing total loan-term cost using today's rate as if it were guaranteed not to change — a headline rate is a starting point, not a personalised, fixed forecast.
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Practical checklist
Before choosing a lender
- Fix your comparison scenario (purpose, amount, LVR, term, repayment type) before shortlisting
- Shortlist two or three loans filtered by the features you actually need
- Request a Home Loan Key Facts Sheet for each shortlisted loan
- Model total cost over your expected term at more than one interest-rate scenario
- Get a written, personalised quote from each shortlisted lender
Questions for a professional
- Is the rate you've quoted me the same as your advertised rate, or has it been adjusted for my application?
- Can you provide a Home Loan Key Facts Sheet for this loan at my actual amount and term?
- What would this loan cost if rates rose by 1-2 percentage points, compared with my other options?
Official resources
Important limitations: This is a general process guide, not a comparison of specific lenders, products or rates, and not a recommendation of any lender.
Sources and methodology
- Choosing a home loan — ASIC (Moneysmart) (retrieved 29 Jul 2026). Reuse terms: see the publisher's site
- National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, Compilation No. 52 (1 July 2026), Volume 1 — Federal Register of Legislation (retrieved 28 Oct 2026). Licence: CC BY 4.0
Figures on this page are drawn from Delora's local knowledge graph, refreshed from these primary sources and checked for changes on a regular schedule. If a figure here looks out of date, the official source above is always the authority — please let us know.
Evidence record
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