The last 13 months
The Reserve Bank collects the interest rate on every new home loan funded each month from lenders, and on all loans still being repaid. These are the owner-occupier averages across all lenders.
| Month | New variable loans | New fixed, up to 3 years | Existing variable loans |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 2026 | 6.20% | 6.30% | 6.20% |
| July 2026 | 6.20% | 6.30% | 6.20% |
| June 2026 | 6.30% | 6.20% | 6.30% |
| May 2026 | 6.20% | 6.10% | 6.20% |
| April 2026 | 6.00% | 5.90% | 6.00% |
| March 2026 | 5.90% | 5.70% | 6.00% |
| February 2026 | 5.70% | 5.50% | 5.80% |
| January 2026 | 5.50% | 5.30% | 5.50% |
| December 2025 | 5.50% | 5.20% | 5.50% |
| November 2025 | 5.50% | 5.10% | 5.50% |
| October 2025 | 5.50% | 5.10% | 5.50% |
| September 2025 | 5.50% | 5.20% | 5.50% |
| August 2025 | 5.50% | 5.30% | 5.50% |
Rates fell through 2025 with three cash rate cuts, bottoming at 5.49 per cent for new variable loans in November 2025, then rose with each of 2026's first three rises. The table runs a month or two behind: the September rise will show in the figures for October.
Is 5.74% a good mortgage rate?
We cannot say whether any rate suits you, but we can compare it with the market. A variable rate of 5.74 per cent is half a point under the 6.20% average for new owner-occupier variable loans in August 2026, so it is lower than what most new borrowers were paying. Moneysmart notes that variable rates on the market can differ by more than 2 per cent, so the same borrower can be offered very different rates. Compare loans on their comparison rate as well as the headline rate: what a comparison rate includes.
Average rate or advertised rate?
The banks' standard variable rate in the Reserve Bank's indicator table was 8.77% in September 2026. Almost nobody pays it: lenders discount it for most borrowers, especially new ones. The average new variable loan was written 2.57 points below it. That gap is why this site shows the average actually paid, not the list rate. What the standard variable rate is.
What the average means in repayments
At 6.20%, principal and interest over 30 years, monthly repayments before fees are about:
| Loan | Monthly repayment | A 0.25% rise adds |
|---|---|---|
| $400,000 | $2,450 | $65 |
| $500,000 | $3,062 | $82 |
| $600,000 | $3,675 | $98 |
| $800,000 | $4,900 | $131 |
Worked from a market average, not an offer from any lender. Full table for a $500,000 loan.
Average rates by type of loan
The headline figure is for owner-occupiers on variable rates, the most common kind of new loan. The Reserve Bank's table F6 also breaks the averages down by who is borrowing and how the rate is set:
| Loan type | July 2026 | July 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Owner-occupier, variable, new loans | 6.20% | 5.80% |
| Owner-occupier, fixed 3 years or less, new loans | 6.30% | 5.40% |
| Owner-occupier, fixed over 3 years, new loans | 6.90% | 6.10% |
| Owner-occupier, variable, existing loans | 6.20% | 5.80% |
| Investor, variable, new loans | 6.40% | 5.90% |
| Investor, fixed 3 years or less, new loans | 6.40% | 5.60% |
| Investor, fixed over 3 years, new loans | 7.00% | 6.70% |
| Investor, variable, existing loans | 6.50% | 6.00% |
Three patterns hold almost every month:
- Investors pay more than owner-occupiers. Lenders price investment loans higher, and the gap shows up in both the variable and fixed averages.
- Longer fixed terms cost more. Rates fixed for more than three years average above those fixed for three years or less, because the lender is taking on more risk that rates will rise while your rate cannot.
- Existing loans can sit above new ones. The average across all loans still being repaid includes borrowers who have not refinanced or asked for a better rate in years. In its May 2026 Bulletin the Reserve Bank found the gap between the average outstanding and average new variable rate had narrowed to just 4 basis points, partly because many borrowers have refinanced with another lender.
How the average has moved since 2019
The Reserve Bank began publishing these averages from data lenders report to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, with the series starting in July 2019. In that month new owner-occupier variable loans averaged 3.5 per cent.
The pandemic pushed rates to record lows. With the cash rate at 0.10 per cent, the average new variable loan fell to 2.4 per cent by April 2022, and new loans fixed for three years or less had already bottomed at about 2.0 per cent in March 2021. Fixed rates were cheaper than variable for most of 2020 and 2021, which is why so many borrowers fixed: the Reserve Bank found fixed-rate loans peaked at almost 40 per cent of outstanding housing credit in early 2022.
Then came 13 cash rate rises in 19 months. By December 2022 the average new variable loan was 5.0 per cent, and by December 2023 it was 6.2 per cent, peaking at 6.3 per cent in January 2024. The three cuts of 2025 brought it back to 5.5 per cent by December 2025, and the rises of 2026 have taken it back up to 6.20% in August 2026.
What makes your rate different from the average
The average is a midpoint across hundreds of thousands of loans. Your own rate depends on how lenders see your loan, and the main things they price on are:
- Your deposit or equity. Loans with a loan-to-value ratio under 80 per cent generally get sharper rates, and above that lenders mortgage insurance usually applies as well. How lenders mortgage insurance works.
- The size of the loan. Many lenders offer bigger discounts on larger loans.
- Owner-occupier or investor, as the table above shows.
- Principal and interest or interest only. Interest-only loans are usually priced higher.
- The product. A basic loan with few features, a package with an annual fee, or a full-featured loan with an offset account can each carry a different rate. Compare the comparison rate, which folds in most fees: what a comparison rate is.
- How long you have had the loan. Lenders give their sharpest discounts to win new customers. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's home loan price inquiry found borrowers with older loans "are generally paying significantly more than borrowers with new loans".
- Your own circumstances, including income type: self-employed borrowers can face different terms. Self-employed home loans.
How to use the average
The average is most useful as a yardstick. Three checks take a few minutes:
- Find your rate on your latest statement or in your lender's app.
- Compare like with like. Use the owner-occupier variable average for an owner-occupier variable loan, the investor average for an investment loan, and the fixed averages for a fixed loan coming up for renewal.
- Price the gap. On a $500,000 loan over 30 years, each 0.25 points is worth about $82 a month. A rate half a point above the average costs roughly twice that.
If your rate is well above the average for new loans of your type, Moneysmart's advice is to ask your lender for a better deal first, telling them you plan to switch: "To keep your business, your lender may reduce the interest rate on your current loan." If they will not, compare refinancing, weighing the costs Moneysmart lists, such as discharge and application fees, and break costs on a fixed loan. How to refinance a home loan.
Where these figures come from
Lenders report the rates on every loan they fund, and on their existing book, to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. The Reserve Bank publishes the averages in its statistical table F6, Housing Lending Rates, usually early in the month, covering the month before last. That lag is why the latest cash rate change may not show yet. We read the table directly from the Reserve Bank each month and show the figures as published, rounded to one decimal place in the summary table above.
Common questions
What is the average home loan interest rate in Australia?
6.20% for new owner-occupier variable loans in August 2026, by the Reserve Bank's table F6. Loans already being repaid averaged 6.20% on variable rates.
What is the average fixed rate?
6.30% for new owner-occupier loans fixed for three years or less, in August 2026.
Why do existing borrowers pay more than new ones?
Often they do, because lenders offer their sharpest discounts to win new customers. Asking your lender for a better rate, or refinancing, can close the gap: how refinancing works.
Do investors pay a higher interest rate?
Generally, yes. In the Reserve Bank's table F6, new investor variable loans averaged more than new owner-occupier variable loans in the latest month; the full breakdown is in the table on this page.
Why is the average rate lower than the banks' standard variable rate?
The standard variable rate is a list price, 8.77% at the big banks in September 2026. Almost every borrower gets a discount off it, so the average actually paid is well below. More on the standard variable rate.
How often is the average updated?
Monthly. The Reserve Bank publishes table F6 early each month, covering the month before last, and we update this page from it.
Sources
- Reserve Bank of Australia, statistical table F6, Housing Lending Rates (new loans funded and outstanding loans, owner-occupier, all institutions)
- RBA, statistical table F5, Indicator Lending Rates (standard variable rate)
- RBA, Cash Rate Target
- Moneysmart, Switching home loans (difference of more than 2% between variable rates on the market), updated 29 July 2026
- RBA Bulletin, Developments in Banks' Funding Costs and Lending Rates, 28 May 2026
- RBA Bulletin, Fixed-rate Housing Loans: Monetary Policy Transmission and Financial Stability Risks, 16 March 2023
- ACCC, Home loan price inquiry, final report (2020)
General information only, not credit or financial advice. We are not a lender or a broker and hold no Australian Credit Licence. Rates shown are RBA market averages, not offers.