Both Qudos Bank and Freedom Lend made adjustments to construction home loan rates in the past week in a possible bid to attract HomeBuilder grant recipients.
The $25,000 HomeBuilder grant is available for people building a home up to the value of $750,000 including land value.
Qudos Bank's cuts were:
- Construction Home Loan 80%: 50 basis point cut to 2.89% p.a. (2.93% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Construction Home Loan 90%: 50 basis point cut to 2.99% p.a. (3.03% p.a. comparison rate*)
Qudos Bank also made cuts to its investment construction loans, but investment properties are not eligible for HomeBuilder.
Meanwhile, Freedom Lend made a smaller cut by 3 basis points to its construction loan, down to 2.68% p.a. (2.70% p.a. comparison rate*)
This rate is applicable for both 80% and 90% LVR borrowers, which is unusual given lenders usually charge a higher rate if borrowers have a smaller deposit.
Compared to others in the construction loan market, this is how these two lenders stack up:
Lender | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
loans.com.au – Solar Construction 90
| |||||||||||||
loans.com.au – Solar Construction 90
| |||||||||||||
Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
Great Southern Bank – Basic Variable Owner Occupier Construction (LVR ≤ 70%) | |||||||||||||
Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
Qudos Bank – Construction Home Loan (LVR < 80%) | |||||||||||||
Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
Geelong Bank – HomeBuilders Loan (Interest Only) (LVR < 80%) | |||||||||||||
Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
loans.com.au – Construction Home Loan (LVR < 90%)
| |||||||||||||
loans.com.au – Construction Home Loan (LVR < 90%)
| |||||||||||||
Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
La Trobe Financial – Construction Home Loan | |||||||||||||
Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
Gateway Bank – Construction Home Loan |
The 2% barrier got breached again
Earlier in the week, challenger brand loans.com.au introduced a home loan with a variable interest rate below the 2.00% p.a. barrier, down to 1.99% p.a. (2.55% p.a. comparison rate*).
The sub-2% rate is available for the first year, before the rate then reverts to 2.57% p.a.
The online lender also launched a two year discounted variable rate of 2.09% p.a.(2.71% p.a comparison rate*) which reverts to 2.79% p.a. after two years.
Both products are limited to borrowers with a maximum LVR of 80%, with a maximum loan amount of $1 million.
This is how loans.com.au's 1.99% p.a. introductory home loan stacks up against other competitive variable-rate home loans on the market:
Lender | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
FEATUREDOnline ExclusiveUp To $4K Cashback Includes NOV RBA Rate Increase | loans.com.au – Variable Basic Cashback Home Loan (Principal and Interest) (LVR < 70%)
| ||||||||||||
loans.com.au – Variable Basic Cashback Home Loan (Principal and Interest) (LVR < 70%)
| |||||||||||||
Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
FEATUREDRefinance OnlyApply In Minutes | Unloan – Variable Rate Home Loan – Refinance Only
| ||||||||||||
Unloan – Variable Rate Home Loan – Refinance Only
| |||||||||||||
Variable | More details | ||||||||||||
FEATURED | Up – Up Home Variable (Principal & Interest) (LVR ≤ 90)
| ||||||||||||
Up – Up Home Variable (Principal & Interest) (LVR ≤ 90)
|

- Immediate cashback upon settlement
- $2000 for loans up to $700,000
- $4000 for loans over $700,000
At the end of June, Bank of Us also breached the 2.00% barrier with 1.99% fixed rates across a suite of fixed-rate terms, although these are only available for Tasmanian residents.
Hobart was one of the only capital cities to record a home price growth in the June quarter, according to a Domain report, and had the second-strongest home price growth at 10% on the year, with Sydney in first.
Community First and Horizon Bank continue customer-owned cutting trend
In continuing the trend of customer-owned institutions cutting home loan rates, on Monday Community First virtually scrubbed the fixed home loan deck, making a wide variety of cuts by 20 basis points.
Some of its freshly cut rates include:
- Fixed P&I 3 Years: Down to 2.49% p.a. (3.56% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Accelerator Package Fixed P&I 3 Years: Down to 2.34% p.a. (3.80% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Investment Fixed P&I 3 Years: Down to 2.79% p.a. (3.86% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Inv Accelerator Package Fixed 3 Years: Down to 2.64% p.a. (4.09% p.a. comparison rate*)
Yesterday, Horizon Bank cut a few fixed rates for investors and owner-occupiers by 30 basis points. The new rates are:
- Fixed 1 Year: Down to 2.69% p.a. (3.45% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Fixed 2 Years: Down to 2.69% p.a. (3.38% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Inv Fixed 1 Year: Down to 2.94% p.a. (3.69% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Inv Fixed 2 Years: Down to 2.94% p.a. (3.63% p.a. comparison rate*)
CommBank has reported a spike in fixed rate lending in recent months, with around 40% of all new owner-occupier loans at fixed rates.

Ready, Set, Buy!
Learn everything you need to know about buying property – from choosing the right property and home loan, to the purchasing process, tips to save money and more!
With bonus Q&A sheet and Crossword!