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Home Loans Perth
Helping you secure your dream home on Australia’s western coast with a great home loan.
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Wondering how you can manage to finance that Perth property you’ve had your eye on? Finding the right home loan is the next step in your journey towards making your dream a reality. Read more about the top home loans in Perth here.
How do I find the best home loan for me in Perth?
The best way to find the perfect home loan for you is to research and compare the options on offer yourself. You have the best idea of your needs, preferences and budget when entering the home loan application process so, in many ways, you’re the most reliable resource when home loan hunting. Savvy is a great place to start for anyone, as our comparison tools make it easy to assess how lenders rank in the areas you find the most important. Consider areas like the type of lender you’re looking to work with in Perth and have in mind home loan rates that you don’t wish to go above, as well as must-have conditions or features.
It’s always important to bear in mind that thoroughness is the name of the game when it comes to choosing a home loan; there’s no worse feeling than signing up for a long-term financial commitment and finding out you missed out on a great deal because you didn’t dig deep enough. Alternatively, if you’d rather leave the hard work in the hands of an expert, you might consider seeking out a Perth mortgage broker to handle your home loan search. They’ll take your preferences and situation into account when compiling a list of suitable home loans for you for a fee or commission.
What choice of lenders do I have in Perth?
Like just about anywhere else in Australia, you won’t be short on home loan options in Perth. From big banks to small online lenders, you’ll be able to find a financier that suits you.
Banks
Australia’s Big Four (ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac) continue to be the most popular banks in the country and provide services across the home loan market. In Perth, local bank BankWest rival the titans of Australian banking when it comes to popularity, so they serve as an alternative closer to home. Generally, big banks like these won’t be offering you the best interest rates or conditions on the market but will excel when it comes to their accessibility (both online and in person) and variety of services.
Credit unions
If you’re looking for options outside of banks, credit unions function in a similar way but do contain distinct differences. The fact that they’re owned by members, rather than shareholders, mean that any profits made are plunged back into the union to facilitate rate drops and bonuses for members. Some of the most popular credit unions operating in Western Australia include Goldfields Money Limited, Collie Miners Credit Union and United Credit Union.
Online lenders
Online lenders will offer borrowers a different experience compared to financial institutions with physical locations. An advantage that online lenders might be able to provide is a more personalised service, catering to your specific needs and shaping your loan to suit you. Interest rates and fees also tend to be lower than those of banks. However, what you may find is that the service or scope of the loans on offer is more limited than larger providers.
Your home loan options
Making your first big step towards buying a home? It's crucial to be across your mortgage options as a first homebuyer.
Opting for a variable interest rate on your home loan means it'll fluctuate as the market moves throughout your repayment term.
On the other hand, fixing your rate locks it in for a pre-defined period. This can bring with it greater certainty around your budget.
It's important not to set and forget when it comes to your home loan. If you find a more competitive offer, it may be worth refinancing.
If you're looking to build a new house, construction loans are specifically designed to cater to the different needs associated with doing so.
A guarantor essentially acts as a safety net for your lender, as they sign onto your loan to agree to pay it off should you become unable to do so.
Purchasing a property as an investment brings with it different specifications from a lender. It's crucial to know what your options are.
Businesses big or small may wish to purchase a property for commercial purposes, which are also different from a standard loan.
Your home loan may give you an interest-only option, which allows you to exclusively pay interest on your loan for a set period.
Just because your finances may be slightly more complicated as a self-employed individual doesn't mean you can't take out a home loan.
Some lenders may allow you to apply for a home loan with alternative documents, such as tax returns, BAS and ABN registration.
There are several options for purchasing a property without a cash deposit, such as equity in another property if you or your guarantor own one.
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How to compare the best home loans in Perth
Lender
As mentioned above, the lender you choose to go with is the first big step in the process that you must get right. Each lender will be different, so choose wisely.
Interest rate
A bad interest rate can cost you thousands of dollars in the long run if you end up making the wrong decision, so it’s a big factor to consider. Fortunately, lenders will always ensure you know their interest rate, so it’ll be hard to miss in the comparison process.
Fees
Some lenders will slug you with fee after fee throughout your home loan, so always be wary of their policies on each different charge. Fees such as establishment, property valuation, conveyancing, and discharge are generally unavoidable, but you can try to minimise the amount you pay for them with the right lender. However, there will be room for you to negotiate your ongoing and establishment fees, as these are two of the most important of the home loan. The comparison rate will give you a good idea of the fees you’ll be paying on top of interest.
Term
While the majority of lenders will stick to 30 years for their home loan terms, you might find some that go up to 40 if you’re looking for more time to pay it off, or 25 if you want it paid off sooner.
Features
Where you can, try to add on as many beneficial features as possible. Offset accounts can help you chip away at your loan repayment without paying interest, while additional repayments without fees and redraw facilities to access those payments add further flexibility to your home loan.
How to maximise your approval chances for your home loan
Check your credit history
Lenders will look to this first and foremost as an indicator of whether you’re a reliable borrower. Check your credit score before applying and try to increase it as much as you can by doing things like paying off your existing debts, cutting out unnecessary expenses and lowering limits on any credit cards you might have.
Build your savings
If a lender can see that you’re a disciplined and effective saver, it’ll boost their confidence in you that you’re a responsible candidate for a loan. The other bonus is that the more savings you have, the greater the deposit you can put down and, in turn, the less you’ll have to borrow.
Stick to your current job and industry
One of the key areas to stick to is to maintain stable employment and income for a long period prior to applying, generally six to 12 months. Entering a new job will likely bring you back into a probationary period, which lenders won’t like, while uprooting yourself and moving into a different industry altogether will also reduce confidence in your short-term prospects.
Establish a “safety net”
It’ll always help your application if you can show your lender that you’ll have funds to fall back on if all else fails. This typically comes in the form of a buffer, meaning that you’re not exhausting all of your savings when applying for your home loan.
Common questions you might have about home loans in Perth
Fees for additional repayments, redrawing, early exit and breaking the loan are the most common fees that lenders will be willing to waive. Additional repayment and break fees are most often enforced in fixed rate home loans, so a variable rate loan will most likely help you avoid them. Always check with lenders to find out their policy on these fees.
Yes – some lenders can approve a loan with as high a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) as 95%, meaning you’ll only have to provide a 5% deposit on your property. Alternatively, you can potentially avoid a deposit entirely if you find someone (usually a family member or close friend) to go guarantor on your property, which brings them in as added security for the loan.
In coastal areas, maybe – you’ll be able to access local flood maps which can help you gauge the overall risk to the house you’re looking at. Also, you might be able to have a flood search conducted by certain conveyancers who offer the service.
Package home loans can be a great way to add bonuses onto your deal and save money. This type of home loan can bundle discounted interest rates and an offset account, as well as other useful features. The trade-off for these benefits is an annual fee that’ll set you back hundreds of dollars.
Yes – you’ll bring a lot of bargaining power to the table if you’ve been a long-time customer of your chosen lender. They’ll want to keep you on as a customer across the board and not lose your business to a competitor, so they’ll usually be willing to negotiate. You don’t have to have been a long-time customer to negotiate a better deal, though; lenders know that they’re in a cutthroat industry and will usually be very keen to accommodate you.
Potentially – Perth’s median house price had gradually fallen over the course of several years dating back to 2014 but has begun to increase, according to CoreLogic. The Perth housing market held firm throughout the pandemic and is predicted to continue growing, so it could be the right time for you to buy in.
This means that you’re committing to the purchase of a new property which hasn’t been built yet, hence the idea of being sold on the property “off the plan”.