What type of home loans are there?
There’s more to buying a home than just choosing the right property –- there’s also the matter of how to structure your loan, which will likely dictate how you make your repayments for years to come. As a buyer, one potential option would be to fix your new home loan rate for three years, and if you’re pondering this, we’ll consider the pros and cons, and some other key questions around fixed rate home loans.
When you purchase a new property and take out a home loan, there are generally three categories to choose from:
- Fixed rate home loans: This option means that you will lock in or ‘fix’ your home loan for a set period of time, during which time your interest payments will not change.
- Variable rate home loans: This option means that your home loan rate will be changeable, and your interest payments could fluctuate up and down.
- Split home loans: This option means combining a fixed rate with a variable one, and splitting the percentages in a way that’s appropriate for your needs.
If you want to lock in a steady interest rate for the first few years of your mortgage, then one option might be to choose a three-year fixed rate home loan.
Latest in home loans
About our finance experts
Alasdair Duncan, Senior Finance Journalist
Alasdair has more than 15 years of experience as a journalist, and he specialises in property and lifestyle topics for Canstar. He has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Queensland and has lectured at QUT. His work has appeared in outlets including Pedestrian.TV, the ABC and Junkee.
Josh Sale, Home Loans Ratings Manager
As Canstar’s Ratings Manager, Josh Sale is responsible for the methodology and delivery of Canstar’s Home Loan Star Ratings and Awards. With tertiary qualifications in economics and finance, Josh has worked behind the scenes for the last five years to develop Star Ratings and Awards that help connect consumers with the right home loan for them.
Josh is passionate about helping consumers get hands-on with their home loans, always reminding home buyers that finding the right loan can be as important for your finances as negotiating a fair property purchase price. Josh has been interviewed by media outlets such as the Australian Financial Review, news.com.au and Money Magazine, discussing topics including home loan equity and wider finance trends.
When it comes to Josh’s own property journey, the home loans expert once bought two houses in the same transaction when he ensured the cubby house his daughter loved was listed on the purchase contract for his new home. You can follow Josh on LinkedIn, and Canstar on Twitter and Facebook.
Thanks for visiting Canstar, Australia’s biggest financial comparison site*
Important information
For those that love the detail
This advice is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this advice is right for you.