When you refinance your home loan, you take out a new loan to replace the old one. Your current home loan is paid out by the new loan and you repay the new home loan over time. You can refinance with your current lender or switch to a new lender.

Refinancing might make sense for you if your situation has changed, for example, if you have changed jobs or started a family. You might also want to think about refinancing if the market conditions have changed, for example if interest rates have gone up or down. In these situations, the home loan that you have may no longer be the best fit for your circumstances and refinancing could help you find a home loan that better meets your needs.

If you’re thinking of refinancing your home loan, the first step is to review your current loan. Make sure you know the rate you’re paying, any costs associated with refinancing and the terms of your home loan.

Next, compare different home loans to see if you can find a better deal than what you’ve got, or a different product which better meets your needs. You could also speak with your current lender to see if you could access any refinance options with them, adjust your current loan to help you manage your repayments better, or benefit from other features that they offer. 

Keep your financial priorities in mind as you evaluate your options. It’s not always about the lowest rate. Consider the whole loan offering, including features like offset accounts and the ability make additional repayments, to make sure you’re getting the home loan that best meets your needs.  Don’t forget to compare fees and charges as well.

The time it takes to complete a refinance will depend on things like the changes you are making to your loan and whether you’re changing your lender.  

Check out our step-by-step guide on how to refinance a home loan for more information.  

You don’t have to refinance your loan, and should only think about doing so if you’re satisfied that making changes to your loan is a good move for you. So there isn’t a set timetable for when you should refinance your home loan. If you do decide to refinance, it should be because refinancing will get you a home loan that better meets your needs.

Common reasons for refinancing include:

1. If you believe a better interest rate is available. If the market situation has changed and interest rates now are lower than when you drew down your home loan, refinancing your home loan may reduce the amount of interest you pay.

2. When your equity has increased. If your property has increased in value, the equity in your home may have increased too. You may be able to use the increased equity to negotiate better interest rates or loan terms. You may also be able to borrow against that equity to fund renovations, investments or other large expenses.

3. When your fixed loan home term or interest only term is expiring. When your fixed rate home loan term ends, your home loan usually switches to the standard variable interest rate, which may or may not be the best deal for you. If your fixed term is coming to an end, it may be a good time to review your home loan and explore your options.

4. If you’ve consistently been making repayments. This may put you in a good position to negotiate a better deal with your lender.

5. When you want to consolidate debt. If you have multiple loans or debts that have different interest rates, you may want to look into consolidating all your debts into your home loan. Home loan interest rates are generally lower than credit card or personal loan interest rates, and having just one repayment can make it easier to manage your budget.

The amount of equity you have in your home is the difference between the value of your property and the amount owing on your home loan. For example, if your property is worth $750,000 and you have $250,000 owing on your home loan, then you have $500,000 equity.

Many home loans will fund up to 95% of the value of your home, which means you’ll need a minimum of 5% equity to refinance. However, if you have equity which is less than a certain level (commonly 20%), you might have to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). Lenders Mortgage Insurance is insurance you pay for, but which protects the bank (not you) if you default on your loan and the money from selling your security property is not enough to repay your loan. If you have less than the required level of equity, you should talk to your lender about the cost of Lenders Mortagage Insurance when deciding whether or not to refinance.

As lenders use the amount of equity to assess risk, generally the more equity you have, the lower the risk of lending to you and the stronger your position.

Learn more about equity with our guide to understanding equity.

There’s no limit to how many times you can refinance your home loan. However, you might want to check if any waiting periods apply to your current loan, or if there are any fees or charges associated with ending or changing your existing loan.

The more important consideration is whether or not it makes sense to keep refinancing when you add up all the costs, such as early repayment costs (which can be substantial), loan approval fees and legal fees. Make sure that any savings you get from refinancing (such as lower repayments) will more than cover the costs of refinancing.

All our eligible fixed and variable rate home loan rates shown above come with a discount off the index rate applied upfront^disclaimer(without needing to pay an annual home loan package fee). The index rate is a benchmark interest rate set by ANZ.

If you’re considering our Standard Variable home loan, you may be able to access a further discount off the index rate than shown above, depending on your situation. This is because the rate discount you can access for this home loan depends on your Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) and other financial circumstances. To find out if you could access a lower rate for our Standard Variable loan, have a no-obligation chat with one of our specialists.

To estimate home loan repayments with a new home loan

1. Enter the details of the type of home loan you’re looking for then choose an ANZ rate from the interest rate drop down. 
2. You can ‘Add a new scenario’ and choose a different ANZ home loan rate to compare estimated repayments for different scenarios side by side.

To compare current and future estimated repayments based on a different rate

1. Enter the details of your existing home loan. If you have a redraw balance on your loan, add that amount on top of your existing loan amount. For instance if you have a loan balance of $600,000 plus a $50,000 redraw amount, enter $650,000 as your loan amount. Any redraw balance will have an effect on your estimated repayments.
2. Choose ‘Enter my own interest rate’ and enter your current interest rate to see your approximate current repayments. (To check your current interest rate, log in to ANZ Internet Banking and click on your home loan account, or in the ANZ mobile app tap your home loan account and go to 'View home loan details’.) 
3. Tap ‘Add a new scenario’ and either choose an ANZ rate from the drop down menu or enter your own rate to see estimated repayments based on the different rate.
4. Compare your current and estimated new repayment for a different scenario to see the difference.

This offer is for customers who are refinancing a loan from another financial institution to ANZ.  If you’d also like to borrow an additional amount from ANZ as part of that refinance, that additional amount will count towards the $250K minimum loan required for $2,000 cashback.

For example, if you have an existing home loan with another financial institution for $150K and want to borrow an additional $100K when you refinance to ANZ, we would consider the $100K to be new lending.

Yes, absolutely. Chat to us about our investor home loans. We’re confident you’ll find one that fits.

Yes, our fantastic broker network is here to help. Plus, they’ll help you find a great home loan to match.

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