Congratulations to the 2021 winners of Mozo Experts Choice Awards for Home Loans. We’ve compared hundreds of home loans for this year’s awards, so if you’re a first home buyer, want to refinance your existing mortgage to get a little breathing room, or are browsing in the property investment market, then this is a good place to begin your search for the most suitable home loan for your needs.
Now in their eighth year, the Mozo Experts Choice Awards are a place where we highlight the products out in the market that we believe offer great value to Australians.
For the 2021 home loan awards, we analysed 506 home loans issued by 99 Australian financial institutions.
“With mortgage rates at an all time low, it’s more important than ever that Australians shop around for a better deal on their home loan,” said Peter Marshall, Mozo Experts Choice Awards judge.
“This year’s research found that borrowers could save thousands over the life of their loan by simply switching to a cheaper home loan and finding one that better suits their individual needs.”
For details on how we crunched the numbers and determined our winners see our 2021 Mozo Experts Choice Awards Home Loans methodology report.
A standing ovation goes to ING who has been crowned Home Lender Bank of the Year for 2021. ING impressed our judges with its competitively priced home loan range taking out awards in the Package, Fixed and Split Home Loan categories, as well as ranking highly across other Mozo Experts Choice Awards categories for overall value.
Displaying remarkable consistency, Tic:Toc has been named our Online Home Lender of the Year for the third year in a row. The tech-focused lender scored wins in almost every category - Low Cost Home Loan, Offset Home Loan, First Home Buyer Loan, Fixed Rate Home Loan, Investor Home Loan and Investor Fixed Home Loan. In fact, that’s more wins in more categories than any other provider in the 2021 awards!
Online lender Athena introduced their AcceleRATES feature last year, which offers home loan rates that automatically decrease as the loan is paid down and the loan-to-value ratio lowers. This innovative feature ensures borrowers are receiving the lowest rate available to them from Athena. This is Athena’s second Home Loan Innovation award in as many years, and a definite well-deserved win.
No matter what stage of the home loan journey you’re at, finding a low cost home loan is something most borrowers are seeking. For this category, the Mozo judges assessed 304 variable rate loans for owner occupier borrowers making principal & interest repayments looking to borrow 80% of the value of their property, and awarded these as the lowest cost.
Neat Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR 70-80%)
Liberate Variable Home Loan (70-80% LVR, Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Variable Home Loan (LVR <80%, Principal & Interest, Owner Occupier)
Low Rate Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, 60-80% LVR)
Star Essentials Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Star Classic Home Loan (<80%, Principal & Interest)
Smart Booster Home Loan (1 Year Discounted Variable Rate, Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, <80% LVR)
Standard Variable Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR 70-80%)
Super Saver Variable (LVR <80%)
Economizer Variable (LVR <80%)
Rate Lovers Variable Home Loan (LVR<80%, Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Variable Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
UHomeLoan - Discount Offer (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Well Balanced (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR <80%)
Variable Home Loan Special (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR 70-80%)
With massive growth in the fixed rate home loan market as a result of rock bottom interest rates, winners considered in this category had to offer at least 3 different fixed rate terms, which resulted in 164 products being assessed. The Mozo judges calculated the annual cost of each fixed rate term offered and ranked them, then averaged the three best results.
Select Basic Fixed (LVR 70-80%, Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Fixed Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR 60-80%) (Advantage Package)
Discount Fixed Rate (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, <80% LVR)
First Home Buyer Fixed (Package)
Discount Great Rate Home Loan (LVR<90%, over $150k) (Fixed, Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Fixed Rate Loan with Orange Advantage (Owner Occupiers, Principal & Interest, LVR <80%) (Orange Advantage)
Fixed Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Fixed Rate (Owner Occupier) (Choices Package)
Fixed Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR 60-80%) (Advantage Package)
Fixed Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Designed to help you pay off your home loan sooner by using your savings to reduce the interest you pay, our expert analysis showed that of the 208 variable rate loans offering a 100% offset facility, these were the lowest cost for this year.
Variable Home Loan (LVR <80%, Principal & Interest, Owner Occupier)
Low Rate Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, 60-80% LVR)
Star Classic Home Loan (<80%, Principal & Interest)
The Works Special Variable Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Smart Booster Home Loan (1 Year Discounted Variable Rate, Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, <80% LVR)
Special Real Deal Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR <80%)
Discount Ultimate Home Loan Special (Principal & Interest, LVR<80%) (Package)
Rate Lovers Variable Home Loan (LVR<80%, Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Prime Flex (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR <80%)
Variable Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Well Balanced (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR <80%)
Variable Home Loan Special (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR 70-80%)
First home buyers often have smaller deposits, so for this category our Experts identified the lowest cost variable rate loans for those looking for a home loan with a loan to ratio of 90%. The assessment included special offers that have been launched recently for borrowers taking advantage of the government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme. Those that stood out from the crowd are..
Basic Home Loan Special Offer (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Variable Home Loan (LVR 80-90%, Principal & Interest, Owner Occupier)
Flexi Low Rate (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
The Works Special Variable Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Bare Essentials First Home Owners Special Offer (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Rate Slasher Variable Home Loan (LVR 80-90%)
Rate Buster Variable Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR 80-90%)
Variable Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Well Balanced (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR <90%)
Flexi First Option Home Loan (2 Year Introductory Rate, Principal & Interest)
A large number of Aussies like to keep their banking all in one place, which means things like great value packaged home loans are particularly important. To find the lowest cost package loans, the Mozo judges assessed 64 products, then identified those that were the lowest cost options where the borrower could also get a credit card and bank account that doesn’t charge any account keeping fee with that same provider. The winners are...
The Works Variable Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest) (Package)
Orange Advantage (LVR<80%, Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest) (Package)
Offset Home Loan (Owner Occupier, LVR<80%, Principal & Interest) (Package)
Complete Package Variable Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest) (Package)
Discount Ultimate Home Loan Special (Principal & Interest, LVR<80%) (Package)
Standard Variable Home Loan First Home Buyer (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR<80%) (Home Package Plus)
For borrowers who like to make the best of both worlds, our Split Home Loan category identifies the leading combinations by the same lender for homeowners looking to split their loan between fixed and variable rates. Those who took this year’s crown are...
Select Basic Variable (LVR 70-80%, Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Variable Home Loan (LVR <80%, Principal & Interest, Owner Occupier)
Orange Advantage (LVR<80%, Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest) (Package)
& Basic Home Loan
Standard Variable Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR 70-80%)
Discounted Classic Home Loan (LVR<80%, Owner Occupier)
Economizer Variable (LVR <80%)
Rate Buster Variable Home Loan (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
UHomeLoan - Discount Offer (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest)
Well Balanced (Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR <80%)
For investors looking to make the most of the property market, this award considered the 249 products available for investors that offered both principal & interest and interest only as an option. The winners below were found to be the lowest cost options for those looking to invest.
Neat Home Loan (Investor, Principal & Interest, LVR 70-80%)
Liberate Variable Home Loan (70-80% LVR, Investment, Principal & Interest)
Variable Home Loan (LVR<80%, Principal & Interest, Investment)
Low Rate Home Loan (Investment, Principal & Interest, 60-80% LVR)
Star Classic Investment Variable Home Loan (<80%, Principal & Interest)
Investor Rate Lovers Variable (Principal & Interest, LVR 60-80%)
Investor Rate Slasher (Principal & Interest, LVR<70%)
Back to Basics Special (LVR<80%, Investment, Principal & Interest)
Variable Home Loan (Investor, Principal & Interest)
Well Balanced (Investor, Principal & Interest, LVR <80%)
For this award, our judges identified the lenders with the lowest costs over a range of fixed terms for property investors. We assessed 137 options, calculating the annual cost of each fixed rate term offered, averaging the three best results. The calculation was performed using rates applicable to both principal & interest and interest only loans. Those that stood out are...
Fixed Rate Home Loan (Investment, Principal & Interest)
Essentials Fixed Home Loan ($250k to $750k, Investment) (Ultimate Package)
Great Rate Home Loan (Fixed, Investment, Principal & Interest)
Fixed Rate Home Loan (Investment, LVR<80%)
Fixed Rate Home Loan (LVR <80%, Investment, Principal & Interest) (Package)
Fixed Rate (Investment, Principal & Interest)
Fixed Rate (Investment) (Choices Package)
Investment Fixed Rate Home Loan (Investment) (Fixed)
Fixed Home Loan (Investor, Principal & Interest)
Fixed UHomeLoan (Investment, Principal & Interest)
Loans that were considered for this award must only be available to homes that have been certified with a minimum level of environmental efficiency. Of these, we calculated the lowest cost option to find our winner. The Bank Australia Clean Energy Home Loan not only has a great low rate, but is available for any home that achieves a NatHERS rating of 7 stars or higher. A big green thumbs up to you!
Clean Energy Home Loan (Owner Occupier, LVR 70-90%) (Package)
Running since 2014, the Mozo Experts Choice Awards recognise products that deliver exceptional value or benefits to consumers.
See our methodology report for more detailed information on how we performed product comparisons and determined the final winners for the Home Loan awards for 2021.
We aim to include most home loans in the market in the Mozo Experts Choice Awards. However, not every financial institution product on the market will be included in our review. Any product we review must be available in the market at the time of our analysis.
There is a reason why there are so many different categories of Mozo Experts Choice Awards in Home Loans. When you’re looking for a home loan you’ll want to think carefully about your options, depending on your deposit, repayment term, whether you’ll go fixed or variable, if you want an offset account, and much more.
If you’d like to learn more about the key features of home loans and the types of loans that are available, why not check out our range of helpful home loan guides?
The Mozo Experts Choice Awards are overseen by AJ Duncanson and Peter Marshall. AJ is Mozo’s Data Director. He is a data scientist and actuary, and has worked in financial services and product comparison for over 30 years. Peter has been in the industry even longer, and as Research Manager he leads the team of analysts that gather information and compare products every day, and that perform all the analysis behind the Mozo Experts Choice Awards.
Please get in touch with us to discuss by emailing or phoning our account management team on 02 9037 4368.