Some of the best home loans in January 2023

What can you expect from home loans in 2023? While the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) doesn’t meet in January, at least one more rate hike is being forecast for later this year by Australia’s biggest banks. Whether you’re buying your first home or managing the repayments on your current mortgage, it’s important to get a good idea of which home loans may offer the most value for money in 2023.

RateCity’s Real Time Ratings™ combine the cost and flexibility of a home loan into a single simple star rating, allowing you to tell at a glance which offers may provide more value. These ratings are regularly updated to help ensure their accuracy, and RateCity’s Home Loan Leaderboards rank mortgage offers in different categories by their Real Time Ratings™ to help further simplify your home loan search.

(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 variable home loans

With no RBA meeting in January 2023, the national cash rate should stay on hold this month. However, this doesn’t mean that mortgage repayments will remain static, due to the delayed impact of banks and mortgage lenders passing on previous rate rises.  

At least one more interest rate rise is being forecast for 2023, though economists from three of Australia’s big four banks believe that additional rate rises are in the pipeline. Following these rises, it’s expected that the RBA may put the cash rate on pause to see what effect it has had on inflation. Once inflation reaches the RBA’s target band of between 2 and 3 per cent, the RBA may consider cutting the cash rate, which could provide some relief for borrowers on variable interest rates.

Some of the best small deposit home loans

Higher interest rates may have contributed to falling house prices in some areas of Australia, but that doesn’t automatically mean things are better for first home buyers. Higher rates also make it more challenging to service a home loan’s repayments, which may limit the maximum amount you can borrow.

It may be possible to purchase a property with a deposit as low as 5 per cent of the property value, though this could mean having to also budget for Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI). Depending on your personal financial situation, you may also be able to qualify for grants and incentives to help you on your way, such as the first home owner grant, waived stamp duty, or the Home Guarantee Scheme.

Some of the best packaged home loans

Some borrowers may find that bundling their home loan with a bank account, credit card and/or other financial products from one bank may provide greater value than keeping these products separate. But it’s important to consider your personal financial situation and whether the bundled products on offer are also the best options to suit your needs.

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