Some of the best home loans for investors and refinancers in May 2023

A significant number of Australian homeowners are facing the fixed rate cliff, where the record-low fixed rates from the pandemic are set to revert to significantly higher variable rates in 2023. Following the May 2023 meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) where the cash rate was hiked to 3.85%, many borrowers may be searching for alternative home loans with increasing urgency.

It's important to consider more than just the interest rate when comparing home loans. The Fees, features and other benefits could all affect the overall value offered by different home loans.

To help make comparing home loans simpler, RateCity developed its Real Time Ratings™ system, which combines the cost and flexibility of each home loan into a simple star rating that’s updated regularly. The top-rate home loans in different categories appear on RateCity’s Home Loan Leaderboards and may become eligible for the RateCity Gold Awards. 

(Rankings are correct at the time of publishing. Please note lenders may trade places on the list as interest rates and fees change and RateCity’s tracker reflects these movements.)

Some of the best refinance home loans

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recently revealed that record refinancing activity has been taking place, which could potentially accelerate further as more borrowers are faced with the fixed rate cliff this year.

While many banks have been offering discounts and incentives to attract the business of these refinancers, some banks have begun rolling these offers back in the face of red-hot competition. For example, both Commonwealth Bank and NAB have recently announced that they’d be withdrawing their cashback offers from the market in June 2023.

Some of the best investor 2-year fixed interest only loans

With at least one more hike to the cash rate potentially on the cards for later this year, and inflation not expected to reach the RBA’s target until 2025, some investors may be interested in locking in a rate that won’t change for a few years, and choosing to switch to interest-only repayments to help keep their costs under control.

However, it’s also possible that rates could be cut some time in the future, depending on how inflation responds to the past year of rate rises, which could mean borrowers on fixed rates could miss out on some interest savings. Plus, while switching to interest-only repayments could save you some money in repayments in the short term, it could end up costing you more in interest charges over the long run as your property may take longer to pay off.

Some of the best green home loans

Both refinancers and investors could potentially switch to a competitive home loan if part of the funds are used to pay for green renovations and adding environmentally friendly features to a home. Additionally, some green household features could help to reduce a home‘s running costs, such as reducing energy bills, and could potentially help to further raise the property’s value to tenants and future buyers.

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