This page collects the Australian mortgage numbers that get quoted, argued about and misremembered, in one place, each one dated and attributed. It draws on RBA statistical tables, ABS Lending Indicators, APRA monthly statistics, the Cotality Home Value Index and published lender rate cards. It is reviewed monthly; journalists and publishers are welcome to cite any figure with attribution and a link (see the methodology section at the bottom).
1. The rate environment
The RBA has hiked four times in 2026: February, March, May and September, each by 25 basis points. It held at 4.35 per cent at the June and August meetings, and the cash rate has been 4.60 per cent since 30 September 2026. All four major banks passed the September rise on in full to variable home loans from 9 October 2026: Westpac's lowest advertised variable rate went from 5.99 to 6.24 per cent and CBA's lowest is now 6.34 per cent. The table below shows advertised rates after the pass-through.
| 2026 cash rate path | Level |
|---|---|
| Start of 2026 | 3.60% |
| February meeting (+25bp) | 3.85% |
| March meeting (+25bp) | 4.10% |
| May meeting, 6 May (+25bp) | 4.35% |
| June meeting (hold) | 4.35% |
| August meeting (hold) | 4.35% |
| September meeting, 30 September (+25bp) | 4.60% |
As at 30 September 2026. Source: RBA cash rate target announcements and statistical tables (rba.gov.au/statistics).
| Owner-occupier variable and fixed rates | Advertised rate |
|---|---|
| Big four lowest variable, from 9 October | 6.24% (Westpac) to 6.50% (ANZ); CBA 6.34%, NAB about 6.29% |
| Macquarie lowest variable, from 15 October | 6.29% |
| Lowest advertised variable in the market (Canstar, 7 October) | 5.69% |
| Average advertised owner-occupier variable (Canstar, 7 October) | 6.63% |
| Lowest big four fixed rate, 1 year (ANZ, from 9 October) | 6.69% |
As at 9 October 2026. Source: lender announcements of the September rise, and Canstar's database as reported on 7 October 2026. Lowest advertised rates usually need a low LVR and a package; your pricing will vary.
2. The loyalty tax: front book versus back book
The RBA's housing lending rates table (F6) tracks the average rate on outstanding variable owner-occupier loans against the average on new loans funded each month. The gap between them is the usual measure of the loyalty tax. It reached 0.50 percentage points at the end of 2022 and has all but closed since, as two years of refinancing competition pushed banks to reprice the customers they already had.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average rate, new variable owner-occupier loans, August 2026 | 6.23% |
| Average rate, outstanding variable owner-occupier loans, August 2026 | 6.24% |
| The gap (the loyalty tax), August 2026 | 0.01 points |
| The same gap, December 2024 | 0.08 points |
| The same gap, June 2023 | 0.30 points |
| The same gap, December 2022 | 0.50 points |
As at August 2026. Source: RBA statistical table F6, housing lending rates, all institutions, published 8 October 2026 (rba.gov.au/statistics). August is the latest month and predates the 30 September cash rate rise.
An average across millions of loans hides a wide spread: borrowers who reprice pull it down for those who never ask. Compare your own rate with your lender's new-customer rate for the same product; every 0.25 points of gap costs about $1,250 a year on $500,000 and $2,500 on $1,000,000. Run the numbers in our refinance calculator or start with the refinancing guide.
3. Average new loan sizes, nationally and by state
The average new owner-occupier loan was $731,000 nationally in the June quarter 2026, per ABS Lending Indicators, down slightly from a record $737,000 in the December quarter 2025. The state picture varies because dwelling values do: Queensland and Western Australia now borrow more on average than Victoria.
| State | Average new owner-occupier loan, June quarter 2026 | Capital city median dwelling value, September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | $731,000 | $899,000 (national) |
| NSW (Sydney) | $842,000 | $1,199,000 |
| VIC (Melbourne) | $664,000 | $781,000 |
| QLD (Brisbane) | $751,000 | $1,049,000 |
| WA (Perth) | $720,000 | $975,000 |
| SA (Adelaide) | $672,000 | $929,000 |
| TAS (Hobart) | $516,000 | $741,000 |
| ACT (Canberra) | $666,000 | $862,000 |
| NT (Darwin) | $545,000 | $633,000 |
As at June quarter (loans) and September 2026 (values). Source: ABS Lending Indicators, June quarter 2026 (released 14 August 2026), average loan size for owner occupier dwellings, original terms, by state; Cotality Home Value Index median dwelling values, September 2026. Loan sizes are statewide; medians are for the capital city.
Whether you can service a loan of that size is a separate question. Test it at current assessment rates in the borrowing power calculator.
4. Monthly repayments at October 2026 rates
Two rates frame the market after the September rise: 6.24 per cent, the lowest big four variable rate (Westpac), and 6.63 per cent, the average advertised owner-occupier variable rate in Canstar's database. The difference between the two columns is roughly what shopping the loan is worth. Figures are 30-year principal and interest.
| Loan size | At 6.24% (lowest big four variable) | At 6.63% (average advertised variable) | What the four 2026 rises added (1 point) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $3,075 a month | $3,203 a month | +$323 a month |
| $750,000 | $4,613 a month | $4,805 a month | +$485 a month |
| $1,000,000 | $6,151 a month | $6,406 a month | +$647 a month |
As at 9 October 2026. Source: our calculation, standard amortisation formula, 30-year P&I. Rate inputs from Westpac's announced rate from 9 October 2026 and Canstar's 7 October 2026 average. The last column compares 6.63% with 5.63%, the same loan before the four 25 basis point rises in February, March, May and September 2026.
5. Stamp duty on a $750,000 home, by state
Stamp duty is the largest single transaction cost in most purchases and the spread between states is wide: $20,470 separates Queensland from Victoria on the same $750,000 established home.
| State | Duty on a $750,000 established home | First home buyer position |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | ~$27,940 | $0 up to $800,000; partial concession to $1,000,000 |
| VIC | ~$40,070 | $0 up to $600,000; partial concession to $750,000 |
| QLD | ~$19,600 | $0 up to $700,000, phasing out at $800,000; new homes exempt with no value cap |
| WA | ~$29,740 | $0 up to $600,000; concessional to $800,000 (from 7 May 2026) |
| SA | ~$35,080 | No concession on established homes; new builds fully exempt, no cap |
As at October 2026. Source: state revenue office transfer duty schedules (NSW at 2026-27 thresholds). Owner-occupier, established home, no first home buyer concessions applied; the QLD figure uses the home concession rate that applies to owner-occupiers. TAS, ACT and NT use different scales and concession regimes; run the exact figure in our stamp duty calculator.
For any other price point or state, use the stamp duty calculator, which covers all eight jurisdictions including first home buyer concessions.
6. Market share and the broker channel
The structural story of the 2020s mortgage market: the big four are slowly losing share of the loan book, mostly to Macquarie, and brokers now write more than four in five new home loans.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Big four share of owner-occupier home loans on bank books, August 2026 | 71.5% |
| The same share, August 2023 | 73.2% |
| The same share, August 2019 | 75.5% |
| Macquarie share of all bank housing loans, August 2026 | 7.5% (5.1% in August 2023) |
| Total housing loans on bank books, August 2026 | $2.50 trillion |
| Broker share of new home loans, June quarter 2026 | 81.6% (record; 77.6% a year earlier) |
As at August 2026. Source: APRA monthly authorised deposit-taking institution statistics, August 2026 and back-series (our calculation from each bank's reported housing loans; ANZ excludes Suncorp Bank, reported separately as Norfina); MFAA, using Cotality data, reported 3 September 2026. APRA reports loans outstanding, not new lending, so these are shares of the book.
7. Serviceability: the numbers a lender tests you at
No lender assesses you at the rate you will pay. APRA's buffer sits on top of the product rate, and on 28 May 2026 APRA kept it at 3 percentage points, where it has been since 2021, and left its limit on high debt-to-income lending unchanged.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| APRA serviceability buffer | 3.0% (kept unchanged by APRA on 28 May 2026) |
| Assessment rate on a 6.24% loan (lowest big four variable) | 9.24% |
| Assessment rate on a 6.63% loan (average advertised variable) | 9.63% |
| Debt-to-income ratio treated as high risk | 6x gross household income and above; banks may write up to 20% of new owner-occupier lending, and separately 20% of new investor lending, at that level |
As at October 2026. Source: APRA APG 223 prudential guidance and APRA media release of 28 May 2026 (apra.gov.au). Lenders can add their own floor rate on top of the buffer.
8. First home buyer schemes snapshot
The federal 5% Deposit Scheme (formerly the First Home Guarantee) lets eligible buyers purchase with a 5 per cent deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance; since 1 October 2025 it has had no cap on places and no income caps. Removing LMI on a $900,000 purchase is worth $30,000 to $45,000 upfront. State First Home Owner Grants stack on top, for new builds in almost every case.
| State | First Home Owner Grant |
|---|---|
| NSW | $10,000, new homes, cap $600,000 |
| VIC | $10,000, new homes, cap $750,000 |
| QLD | $30,000, new homes, cap $750,000 |
| WA | $10,000, new homes, cap $800,000 south of the 26th parallel / $1,000,000 north (from 7 May 2026) |
| SA | $15,000, new homes, uncapped since June 2024 |
| TAS | $20,000, new homes (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027) |
| ACT | No FHOG; Home Buyer Concession Scheme instead, with no duty and no income or property value limit from 1 July 2026 |
| NT | $50,000 HomeGrown Territory Grant, new homes (contracts to 30 September 2027) |
As at October 2026. Source: state and territory revenue offices. 5% Deposit Scheme details per firsthomebuyers.gov.au; price caps apply by area (Sydney $1.5 million).
9. Property values by capital, September 2026
The Cotality Home Value Index fell 1.1 per cent nationally in September 2026, the sixth monthly fall in a row, leaving values 5.2 per cent below their March 2026 record and unchanged over 12 months. Every capital except Darwin fell over the month, and 97 per cent of capital city suburbs were down over the three months to September. The headline still hides a two-speed market: regional values are up 5.6 per cent over the year while the combined capitals are down 1.8 per cent.
| Market | September 2026 monthly change | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney | -1.4% | -7.0% over the year; 8.6% below its February peak |
| Melbourne | -0.7% | -6.2% over the year; 7.2% below its November 2025 high |
| Brisbane | -1.5% | Sharpest monthly fall among the capitals |
| Perth | Down | +10.1% over the year, among the strongest annual gains |
| Darwin | +0.4% | Only capital to rise in September; +11.9% over the year |
| Combined capitals | Down | -1.8% over the year |
| Regional markets | Down in 71% of regional SA3 sub-markets | +5.6% over the year |
| National | -1.1% | Sixth consecutive monthly fall; 5.2% below the March 2026 peak; 0.0% over the year |
As at September 2026. Source: Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) Home Value Index, September 2026 results, published 1 October 2026.
What the divergence means in practice: a Sydney or Melbourne borrower refinancing in 2026 may meet a conservative bank valuation, while a Perth or Darwin borrower is still ahead of a year ago. The city the property sits in matters more than the national headline. Start with the home loans hub for the borrowing side of that equation.
Methodology and sources
Figures on this page are compiled from public data: RBA statistical tables (including the Lenders' Interest Rates series), ABS Lending Indicators, APRA monthly authorised deposit-taking institution statistics, the Cotality Home Value Index, state revenue office duty schedules, and published lender rate cards. Repayment figures use the standard amortisation formula on 30-year principal-and-interest terms. Market shares are our calculation from APRA's bank-by-bank figures for housing loans outstanding. Where a figure is indicative rather than a published statistic, it is labelled as such in the source line under its table.
This page is reviewed monthly. On 10 October 2026 we refreshed every section against the latest published data, and corrected figures from the June review that the source data did not support, including the loyalty-tax gap, average loan sizes and market share. Each table shows its own as-at date, because the sources publish on different schedules: RBA lending rates and APRA banking statistics run about six weeks behind, and ABS lending figures are now quarterly.
Citing this page: journalists, researchers and publishers may cite any figure on this page with attribution to Your Finance Guide and a link to this URL. If you need the underlying calculation for any derived figure, the methodology above describes it; the primary sources are the RBA statistical tables, the ABS and APRA.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average mortgage rate in Australia in 2026?
In August 2026, the latest RBA data, new owner-occupier variable loans were written at an average of 6.23 per cent and existing variable borrowers paid 6.24 per cent (RBA table F6). Those averages predate the 30 September cash rate rise, which the big four passed on in full from 9 October: their lowest advertised variable rates now run from 6.24 per cent at Westpac to 6.50 per cent at ANZ. On 7 October Canstar put the average advertised owner-occupier variable rate at 6.63 per cent and the lowest at 5.69 per cent.
What is the average mortgage size in Australia?
The average new owner-occupier loan was $731,000 in the June quarter 2026, per ABS Lending Indicators. It ranges from $516,000 in Tasmania to $842,000 in New South Wales, and Queensland ($751,000) and Western Australia ($720,000) now sit above Victoria ($664,000).
How much of the mortgage market do the Big 4 banks hold?
The big four banks held 71.5 per cent of the owner-occupier home loans on Australian banks' books in August 2026, down from 73.2 per cent in August 2023 and 75.5 per cent in 2019, per APRA's monthly banking statistics. Macquarie has been the main gainer, with 7.5 per cent of all bank housing loans, up from 5.1 per cent in 2023. Brokers wrote a record 81.6 per cent of new home loans in the June quarter 2026 (MFAA, using Cotality data).
What is the mortgage loyalty tax?
The loyalty tax is the gap between what existing borrowers pay and what new borrowers get for the same kind of loan. On the RBA's averages it has all but closed: in August 2026 outstanding variable owner-occupier loans averaged 6.24 per cent against 6.23 per cent on new loans, down from a 0.50 point gap at the end of 2022. An average hides a wide spread, though, so the useful comparison is your own rate against your lender's new-customer rate. Every 0.25 points of gap costs about $1,875 a year on a $750,000 loan.
What deposit do first home buyers need in Australia?
The standard requirement is 20 per cent to avoid lenders mortgage insurance. Under the 5% Deposit Scheme (formerly the First Home Guarantee), eligible buyers can purchase with a 5 per cent deposit and no LMI, and since 1 October 2025 the scheme has had no cap on places and no income caps. Removing LMI on a $900,000 purchase is worth $30,000 to $45,000 of upfront cost. Price caps apply by area; Sydney's is $1.5 million.
Use the numbers
- Refinance calculator: what the loyalty-tax gap is worth on your balance
- Borrowing power calculator: your capacity at the 2026 assessment rates
- Stamp duty calculator: all eight states and territories, with FHB concessions
- Refinancing guide: the process, the costs, the break-even
- Home loans hub: rates, lenders and guides in one place