Some of the best home loans for investors and refinancers in July 2022

Multiple back-to-back hikes to the national cash rate from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) may be putting pressure on the budgets of many Australian mortgage holders, leading to more discussions of refinancing. But as lenders keep passing on the RBA rate hikes (which are forecast to continue), how can you be confident that you’re getting a home loan that will suit your needs?

Before investors or owner occupiers jump ship to another mortgage lender, it’s important to compare the available options. RateCity’s Real Time Ratings™ combine the cost and flexibility of different home loans into a simple star rating. This rating is updated daily to help you more accurately compare the potential value offered by different home loans, even as lenders update their mortgage products.

RateCity’s Home Loan Leaderboards also rank home loan deals in different categories based on their Real Time Ratings™, so you can quickly compare some of the top choices in the area you’re interested in.

Some of the best refinance home loans 

A range of home loan choices are available to mortgage holders looking to refinance, featuring lower interest rates and flexible features and benefits that could help you to manage your repayments.

That said, several of these home loans also have relatively low Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) requirements, meaning you may need to have built up more than 30 or 40 per cent equity in your property to be approved. If you’ve only bought a property relatively recently, your equity may already be fairly low. And with property values in some areas tipped to fall due to rising interest rates, you may struggle to qualify for some of the top-rated refinance loans for some time.

Some of the best investor variable home loans

Some investors may be eager to switch to a fixed interest rate to avoid repeated rate hikes. However, many lenders have already been hiking their fixed interest rates, so making the switch could mean paying a higher interest rate on a loan that may be less flexible and harder to refinance from.

A variable home loan interest rate may rise when the RBA hikes the cash rate, but it could also fall if the RBA cuts the cash rate in the future (as some economists have forecast), and is more likely to offer more flexible repayment options than a fixed rate loan. A few lenders also offer extra incentives, such as cashback deals.

Some of the best green home loans

Another option that some mortgage holders could consider when comparing home loans is going green. Some mortgage lenders offer interest rate discounts on green home loans for properties that feature environmentally friendly features and/or fulfil other green credentials. Refinancing the mortgage on your home or investment property to renovate and add more green features could also be an option to consider.    

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