Bendigo Bank became the latest lender to cut variable rates in the past week, reducing one product by 0.15 percentage points to 5.89%. It joins 14 other lenders now offering at least one variable rate below 5.9%. The lowest variable rates on the market remain held by LCU and Pacific Mortgage Group, both at 5.69%. Forty lenders now offer at least one variable rate below 6%, according to the database.
Lowest variable home loan rates
Provider
Loan
Max LVR
Interest rate
Comparison rate
Pacific Mortgage Group
Variable P&I <60%
60%
5.69%
5.69%
LCU
Simple Home Loan
95%
5.69%
5.71%
Horizon Bank
First Home Buyer Loan P&I <70%
70%
5.74%
5.74%
Unity Bank
Essential Worker Variable
95%
5.80%
5.85%
Virgin Money
Residential Lite Home Loan Variable P&I <80% >150k
80%
5.84%
5.86%
Border Bank
First Home Loan P&I 80-98%
98%
5.84%
5.91%
Police Bank
First Home Loan P&I 80-98%
98%
5.84%
5.91%
Source: Canstar.com.au. Based on owner-occupier variable loans on Canstar’s database.
“Competition among lenders continues to create opportunities for some households to cut their borrowing costs,” said Sally Tindall (pictured right), data insights director at Canstar. “Negotiating with your lender can get you on your way, but the bigger gains still typically come from refinancing.”
Tindall pointed to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority‘s Quarterly ADI Property Exposures report for the March 2026 quarter, which showed loans between 30 and 89 days in arrears rose slightly following the RBA’s rate rises, though the figure remained low at 0.49% of the loan book.
“Similarly, the value of home loans on interest-only loans rose marginally in the March quarter to 11.8% of all mortgages, also below average – evidence existing borrowers aren’t switching over to interest-only in search of relief from rising rates,” she said.
“The same can’t be said for owner-occupiers buying property with next-to-no deposit. While overall lending took a backwards step in the March quarter, the proportion of new owner-occupier loans with a deposit of 5% or less hit a record high – not exactly ideal timing given the subsequent slide in property prices.”