Basic variable rate home loans (also known as “No Frills” or “Vanilla” home loans) are the simplest home loan products available and typically come with few features. These home loans have lower interest rates when compared to standard variable rate home loans to compensate for the lack of included features.

Standard variable rate home loans are the most popular home loan product in Australia. The key feature of standard variable home loans is that their interest rate can increase or decrease, meaning your repayment amounts can increase or decrease throughout the term (life) of your loan. They are the most flexible loan type in the market and typically come with a broad range of features to choose from.

No deposit home loans or 100% home loans don’t technically exist anymore in Australia. They were phased out following the 2007/2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC). The most lenders will allow you to borrow now is 95%, although one Perth lender will allow up to 98% - see Keystart Home Loans.

However, depending on eligibility, there is now really only one real way to get a home loan without a deposit, and that is via a Guarantor home loan.

Fixed rate home loans, like the name suggests, come with fixed interest rates for set intervals of time. Fixed rate home loans give you the security of a fixed interest rate for a given period; typically one, two, three, four and five-year fixed terms are the most common, but some lenders will allow you to fix your loan for up fifteen years! Having your home loan repayments fixed for a set period can give you added piece of mind and makes budgeting a lot easier.

A split rate home loan allows you to have a portion of your home loan at a fixed interest rate and the remaining portion at a variable interest rate. You can choose what portion of your home loan to be fixed and what portion is to be variable e.g. 50% variable and 50% fixed, or a 65% variable and 35% fixed split. The split rate home loan is a great compromise between the benefits and drawbacks of fixed and variable interest rate home loans.

An Interest Only home loan enables you to pay only the interest on the amount you borrowed for your property for a set period of time. Usually, you can pay interest only for the first one to five years of the home loan although some lenders do offer longer terms. At the end of the interest-only period, you will then have to start paying off both the principal and the interest of the loan. 

An Introductory or Honeymoon rate home loan offers a reduced rate of interest at the beginning of the home loan. This honeymoon period typically lasts for 12 months, but can range from 6 months, up to 2 years depending on the lender. After the introductory period is over, the interest rates will revert to the standard rates.

A Line of Credit home loan (also known as an Equity home loan) allows you to borrow back (up to a specified limit) against any equity built up in your property, using the property as security for the loan. They enable you to access quickly the equity in your property, which you can then use for making investments, property renovations and more.

Construction home loans are designed for the building of new properties and involve staged drawdown payments, where funds are recieved in instalments after a pre-agreed body of construction work has been completed.

With a standard home loan, the entire loan amount (principal) is used to pay for the property once the contract has settled. Construction home loans are typically interest only during the land purchase and construction phases and are drawn down in stages as the property is being built. Upon completion of the property, the loan will revert to another type.

Keystart Home Loans was established in 1989 by the WA Government to help eligible West Australians achieve home ownership. Keystart does this by offering affordable, low deposit home loans with no lenders mortgage insurance. Since its inception, Keystart has helped well over 85,000 West Australian individuals and families to own their homes across Perth and country WA.