Home News Westpac slashes advertised home loan rates by 1%

Westpac slashes advertised home loan rates by 1%

Westpac has grabbed the headlines by cutting advertised rates on its packaged variable home loans by more than 1% in a busy week on the mortgage market.

By Denise Raward

First published on 17 Apr 2025

Fact Checked

Westpac slashes advertised home loan rates by 1%

Westpac may have taken centre stage this week with its dramatic cuts on advertised packaged variable home loan rates - a 1.05% p.a. drop for owner occupiers and a hefty 1.40% p.a. drop for investors.

But it's not quite as exciting as it appears.

Somewhat counterintuitively, the big banks are notorious for advertising home loans rates considerably higher than many of their customers are paying.

In short, the much-touted new advertised rates - "now among the lowest of the major banks", according to Westpac's mortgage boss - more accurately reflect what it's already offering in the marketplace.

The new lowest advertised rate for its Premier Advantage Rocket Repay home loans is 6.14% p.a. (6.51% p.a. comparison rate*) for owner occupiers (OO) with a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) less than 70% and making principal and interest (P&I) repayments.

Rocket Repay packaged home loans come with an offset account and an annual package fee of $395.

Compare offset home loan interest rates

Westpac's new rates

Here are a selection of Westpac's new advertised rates:

Product	% change	New rate	Comparison rate*
OO P&I ≤70% LVR	-1.05	6.14% p.a.	6.51% p.a.
OO P&I 70-80% LVR	-1.05	6.24% p.a.	6.61% p.a.
OO P&I >80% LVR	-1.05	6.54% p.a.	6.91% p.a.
Investor P&I ≤70% LVR	-1.40	6.34% p.a.	6.71% p.a.
Investor P&I 70-80% LVR	-1.40	6.44% p.a.	6.81% p.a.
Investor P&I >80% LVR	-1.40	6.74% p.a.	7.10% p.a.
Investor IO ≤70% LVR	-1.40	6.60% p.a.	6.84% p.a.
Investor IO 70-80% LVR	-1.40	6.70% p.a.	6.94% p.a.
Investor IO >80% LVR	-1.40	7.00% p.a.	7.24% p.a.

This week's dramatic drop to advertised Rocket Repay home loan rates follows cuts to Westpac's Flexi First Option rates for online refinancers in March.

The Flexi First Option product is Westpac's basic home loan (without an offset account) and offers refinance rates as low as 5.84% p.a. (5.85% p.a. comparison rate*) to owner occupiers with LVRs of 70% or less, making P&I repayments.

Investors with the same credentials can secure a rate of 6.09% p.a. (6.10% p.a. comparison rate*).

Other banks in the Westpac group: St George Bank, Bank of Melbourne, and BankSA have also followed suit although some investor rates vary slightly higher.

BoQ drops variable rates up to 25 bp

Bank of Queensland was also cutting variable rates this week, launching a special offer deal on Clear Path owner occupier and investor home loans.

Its best new rate is 5.89% p.a. (6.02% p.a. comparison rate*) for owner occupiers with ≤80% LVR making P&I repayments, a drop of 10 basis points.

But the biggest cuts were aimed at investors, with their rates dropping by 20-25 basis points.

Clear Path variable home loans come with an offset and redraw facility, no application fees, and one free valuation.

Here are the new Clear Path special offer rates - for new lending only:

Product	% change	New rate	Comparison rate*
OO P&I ≤80% LVR	-0.10	5.89% p.a.	6.02% p.a.
OO P&I 80-90% LVR	-0.10	6.14% p.a.	6.26% p.a.
Investor P&I ≤80% LVR	-0.20	6.04% p.a.	6.16% p.a.
Investor P&I 80-90% LVR	-0.20	6.34% p.a.	6.00% p.a.
Investor IO ≤80%	-0.20	6.14% p.a.	6.21% p.a.
Investor IO 80-90% LVR	-0.25	6.54% p.a.	6.38% p.a.

Bendigo adjusts variable/fixed rates

Bendigo Bank has gone the other way on variable rates this week, nudging some of its Express and Complete home loan rates five basis points higher while dropping fixed rates.

The variable rate on its Express home loan is now 5.89% p.a. (6.02% p.a. comparison rate*), a five basis point hike, for owner occupiers making P&I repayments.

The variable investor rate is also up five points to 6.09% p.a. (6.22% p.a. comparison rate*) for P&I repayments.

Express home loan rates apply to all LVRs up to a maximum of 90%.

Meanwhile, fixed rates on both Express and Complete home loans have dropped by between 10 and 30 basis points.

Adelaide Bank also boosts variable rates

Not surprisingly, Bendigo's stablemate Adelaide Bank has also boosted variable rates on both its no-frills SmartSaver and Smartfit (with offset) home loans by five basis points.

Its best new owner occupier rate is 6.04% p.a. (6.05% p.a. comparison rate* SmartSaver, 6.21% p.a. comparison rate* Smartfit) for borrowers with ≤80% LVR and making P&I repayments.

The five basis point hike applies across the board to both owner occupier and investor home loans for both P&I and IO repayments.

Still in the stable, Bendigo and Adelaide's part-owned digital platform Tiimely Home has also boosted Refinance & Purchase variable rates by five basis point for both owner occupiers and investors.

Tiimely's best new refinance rate is 5.79% p.a. (5.80% p.a. comparison rate*) for owner occupiers making P&I repayments.

The slight upward adjustment could be an attempt to claw back some margin ahead of any further RBA rate cuts, which could ostensibly hurt margins.

The Bendigo Bank results posted earlier this year showed a mixed half-year with its profit and net interest margin taking a hit.

Other movers

Other movers on the mortgage market this week all adjusted fixed rates which are hardly enticing borrowers amid forecasts of multiple interest rate cuts starting in May.

Nevertheless, here's a run-through of the latest fixed rate action:

Bankwest, owned by CommBank, has slashed its fixed rates by up to 90 basis points with a new best rate of 5.29% p.a. (8.09% p.a. comparison rate*) for a two-year fixed period for owner occupiers with 80%LVR
Bank First has cut fixed rates by up to 46 basis points
Beyond Bank has dropped its fixed rate loans across the board by up to 20 basis points
The Mac Credit Union has taken 70 basis points off its one-year standard owner occupier fixed rate to 5.59% p.a. (7.51% p.a. comparison rate*)

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Buying a home or looking to refinance? The table below features home loans with some of the lowest interest rates on the market for owner occupiers.

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Lender	Home Loan	Interest Rate	Comparison Rate*	Monthly Repayment	Repayment type	Rate Type	Ongoing Fees	Upfront Fees	Max LVR	Row Tags	Features	Link	Compare	Promoted Product	Disclosure
loans.com.au	loans.com.au Variable Home Loan P&I <90%	5.79% p.a.	5.83% p.a.	$2,931	Principal & Interest	Variable	$0	$530	90%	Owner Occupier Variable Principal & Interest 10% Min Deposit Redraw Extra Repayments More details	Available for purchase or refinance, min 10% deposit needed to qualify. No application, ongoing monthly or annual fees. Quick and easy online application process.	More details	Compare	Promoted	Disclosure
Unloan	Unloan Variable Rate Home Loan LVR < 80%	5.74% p.a.	5.65% p.a.	$2,915	Principal & Interest	Variable	$0	$0	80%	100% owned by Commbank Owner Occupier Variable Principal & Interest 20% Min Deposit Redraw More details	No application or ongoing fees. Annual rate discount Unlimited redraws & additional repayments. LVR <80% A low-rate variable home loan from a 100% online lender. Backed by the Commonwealth Bank.	More details	Compare	Promoted	Disclosure
Ubank (part of NAB)	Ubank (part of NAB) Flex variable home loan - 100% offset	5.84% p.a.	6.08% p.a.	$2,947	Principal & Interest	Variable	$250	$250	60%	100% offset Owner Occupier Variable Principal & Interest 40% Min Deposit Offset Redraw More details	Easy application. Fast approval. 100% offset. Unlimited additional repayments free of charge. Redraw available - Access additional payments.	More details	Compare	Promoted	Disclosure

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

Base criteria of: a $400,000 loan amount, variable, fixed, principal and interest (P&I) home loans with an LVR (loan-to-value) ratio of at least 80%. However, the ‘Compare Home Loans’ table allows for calculations to be made on variables as selected and input by the user. Some products will be marked as promoted, featured or sponsored and may appear prominently in the tables regardless of their attributes. All products will list the LVR with the product and rate which are clearly published on the product provider’s website. Monthly repayments, once the base criteria are altered by the user, will be based on the selected products’ advertised rates and determined by the loan amount, repayment type, loan term and LVR as input by the user/you. *The Comparison rate is based on a $150,000 loan over 25 years. Warning: this comparison rate is true only for this example and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Rates correct as of . View disclaimer.

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

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Denise Raward

Denise Raward is a senior journalist with an interest in macroeconomics, property, and personal finances. She has worked extensively across mainstream media organisations and lectured at Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University, and Bond University. She holds a Bachelor of Business - Communication, a Master of Arts, and RG 146 financial certification in Generic Knowledge, Securities, and Regulation. Joining Savings.com.au in January 2024, Denise strives to deliver financial information in everyday language to help Australians to better understand how to manage their own – and their families' – ongoing financial health.

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For home loans, the base criteria include a $500,000 loan amount over 30 years. For car loans, the base criteria include a $30,000 loan over 5 years. For personal loans, the base criteria include a $20,000 loan over 5 years. These rates are only examples and may not include all fees and charges.

*The Comparison rate is based on a $150,000 loan over 25 years. Warning: this comparison rate is true only for this example and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate.

Monthly Repayment Figures

Monthly repayment figures are estimates that exclude fees. These estimates are based on the advertised rates for the specified term and loan amount. Actual repayments will depend on your circumstances and interest rate changes.

Monthly repayments, once the base criteria are altered by the user, will be based on the selected products’ advertised rates and determined by the loan amount, repayment type, loan term and LVR as input by the user/you.

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