How often should I review my home loan rate?

Reviewing your rate at least once a year is sensible, and you should also check after major life changes like a new job, business shift or buying another property. A brief discussion with your bank or broker will usually show whether your current rate is still sharp or if it’s time to negotiate or refinance.

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Do Banks Give Better Home Loan Deals If You Go Direct?

Wondering if banks give better mortgage rates if you skip the broker? This guide explains how pricing really works, when banks discount, and how to negotiate the sharpest deal for your situation this week.

Published 21 July 2026Updated 27 Aug 2026Reviewed 21 Aug 20267 min read

Key Takeaway

Banks in Australia generally do not give better home loan rates for going direct; branch and broker channels use the same base pricing, with discretionary discounts driven by loan size, LVR and customer profile. APRA’s 3% serviceability buffer means structure and policy can matter more than tiny rate gaps. Borrowers can usually secure the sharpest deal by comparing broker quotes against at least one direct-bank offer, then using that to negotiate or refinance.

Do Banks Give Better Home Loan Deals If You Go Direct?

This topic is covered in full on Tailored Loans Sydney

Read the full guide on tailoredloans.sydney

Most Australian banks do not give better home loan deals just because you go direct. Branch staff and brokers usually access the same base rates and discount grids. The final rate you get depends more on loan size, LVR, your profile and how hard someone negotiates for you than on whether you walked into a branch.

In short: don’t assume “broker rate vs bank rate” is a simple either/or. Use both if needed. Get at least one broker quote and one direct offer, then play them off each other.

Diagram comparing going direct to a bank versus using a mortgage broker for home loans. Banks and brokers usually access the same base pricing, but brokers can compare many lenders at once.

How home loan pricing actually works in Australia

Base rates vs discretionary discounts

Most lenders price home loans in two layers:

Card/base rate – the standard variable rate on the website.
Discretionary discount – the real rate, based on:
- Loan size (bigger loans often get sharper pricing)
- LVR (≤60%, 60–80%, >80%)
- Product (basic vs package, P&I vs IO)
- Purpose (owner‑occupied vs investment)

Whether you’re with a branch banker or a broker, they’re usually requesting a discount from the same pricing engine.

Is there a secret “direct-only” rate?

For major banks, there generally isn’t a published “better if you come direct” rate. What can differ is:

How aggressively each channel pushes for pricing
The quality of the submission to the pricing team
Whether your scenario fits that lender’s current appetite (e.g. they want more investors or professionals this quarter)

Broker rate vs bank rate: where differences really show up

What tends to be the same

Across most big lenders:

Base rates: identical for branch and broker.
Discount bands: same internal grids by loan size and LVR.
Approval rules: APRA’s 3% buffer applies either way.

What often differs in practice

A good broker can shift the outcome because they:

Compare deals across 20–40 lenders instead of one
Know which lenders are discounting hardest this month
Package pricing requests with sharp comparable offers
Re-run the numbers quickly if a valuation comes in low

By contrast, a branch banker is limited to their own bank and may have less incentive to tell you when another lender is better.

Here’s how it can look in real life.

Scenario	Go direct to your bank	Use a strong broker
Simple PAYG, 60% LVR, standard metro home	Competitive if you push for repricing	Often similar rate, but easier benchmarking
Investor with multiple loans	One bank’s policy only	Can place loans across lenders to maximise capacity
Self‑employed, complex income	May hit policy roadblocks	Can choose full‑doc or alt‑doc, compare pricing
Need valuation to be realistic	Stuck with one valuer panel	Broker can pivot lenders/valuers if needed
Negotiating after a few years	Bank may drag feet on repricing	Broker can threaten (and execute) a refinance

For more detail on the broader advantages beyond rate, see /insights/benefits-using-mortgage-broker-australia.

Worked example: broker vs bank on a $900k loan

Assume: - Loan: $900,000 - Owner‑occupied, P&I, 30 years - Current rate: 6.40% p.a. Scenario A – direct to your bank You negotiate and get the rate down to 5.95% p.a. Approximate monthly repayment: $5,359. Scenario B – broker canvasses multiple lenders Broker finds another major that will do 5.75% p.a. with similar fees. Approximate monthly repayment: $5,252. Difference: about $107 per month (~$1,284 per year). Over five years, that’s roughly $6,400 saved, ignoring compounding. The gap isn’t always that big, but this is typical where a bank won’t fully…

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Frequently asked questions

Generally they do not. Most Australian banks use the same base pricing for branch and broker channels, with discretionary discounts applied according to loan size, LVR and customer profile. Any difference usually comes down to how well your deal is negotiated rather than a special direct-only interest rate.

In many cases, yes. A strong broker compares multiple lenders, knows who is discounting most aggressively and can use competing offers as leverage in pricing requests. You can then ask your own bank to match that quote; if they refuse, you have a clear case to refinance elsewhere.

Typically no. For standard residential loans, banks treat broker commission as a distribution cost, not a fee added on to your interest rate. They usually price broker and direct loans off the same internal rate grids. You should still compare offers to confirm the deal is competitive for your situation.

Loyalty alone rarely leads to the best rate. Banks tend to reserve their sharpest pricing for new customers, so long-term borrowers who never review their loan can drift onto uncompetitive rates. Regularly checking and repricing or refinancing every year or two is usually more beneficial than relying on loyalty.

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