Why 2024 is the year to switch home loans

For many Australians, repaying a home loan is one of the most expensive yet important things they do. For first-home buyers, a mortgage invests in their future and housing security. For investors, it’s a nest egg and income stream.

But for money-savvy Aussies hoping to save, refinancing a home loan is not just about tightening the belt: spending smarter is a key part of the equation.

So let’s look ahead with some property forecasts. Why is 2024 the year to switch home loans and make your money count for more?

This decade has been rocky for the Australian property market. From the boom of 2020 to the bust of 2022, and all the interest rate hikes between, buying a home has been a little like leaping into fire.

Still, plenty of borrowers have leapt into the housing market anyway. Property is the Australian dream, after all.

However, 2024 could look a little different. If the experts are right, rate hikes are largely finished . This could smooth out the rises and falls of the housing market while keeping home loan deals looking more consistent.

Now, you can confidently plan your home-buying journey without worrying about a huge market upset or your interest rate changing during the application process.

Have you been making principal mortgage repayments ? Then 2024 could be a great year to check your property value.

According to the research house CoreLogic, Australian home values increased 8.1% over 2023. Based on their forecasts, home values will continue to rise in 2024.

Of course, these capital gains haven’t been felt equally across the country. But knowing your property value is a huge advantage, especially if you live in a hot housing market like Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane, because it estimates your home equity.

Home equity is the value of your ownership, and it can be a huge asset when refinancing your home loan. Borrowers with more equity get better interest rates than borrowers with low equity, and some of the cheapest home loan offers in Mozo’s database have high equity requirements.

For example, Unloan’s competitive digital home loan with a 5.99% p.a. (5.90% p.a. comparison rate*) interest rates requires refinancers to have at least 20% home equity (LVR < 80%).

Letting your money idly run itself is fine for a while, but not great long-term. Much of life is about maintenance, and that means occasionally having a check-in. Ask yourself, in all seriousness: when was the last time you looked at your finances, especially your home loan?

For example, if you compare your home loan to others on the market:

• Are the fees too high or too many?
• How high has your interest rate gone?
• Do you enjoy working with your lender?
• Are there ways to pay off your home loan faster, i.e. extra repayments ?

Asking yourself these critical refinancing questions can help you sort out not just your money, but how you feel about it. None of these are issues that will magically solve themselves, after all, so a little bit of proactivity now could save you time, headaches, and cash in the long run.

Still on the fence? That’s alright: research is key, and refinancing takes a bit of preparation. You can learn more about the refinancing process using our home loan guides and compare refinancing deals on offer in the table below.