By Mel Smith, Residential Broker, The Brokerage
The new financial year has arrived. Tax documents are with the accountant, FY26 is filed away, and most of us are back to business as usual. But before the year gets moving again, it is worth pausing on one of the biggest line items in any household budget: your home loan. The decisions you make in July will shape how the rest of 2026 plays out for your finances and your property goals.
This year, that fresh-start review matters more than most.
Where things stand right now
It was a demanding first half of the year for borrowers. The Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate three times in the first half of 2026, taking it to 4.35 per cent, as inflation pressures returned and global events pushed fuel and commodity prices higher. Economists remain divided on whether further increases are ahead, with attention now turning to the RBA’s August meeting. The message for households is the same either way: the era of waiting for rates to fall is over, and the loan that performed well a year ago may not be performing well today.
Higher rates do not just affect repayments. They affect borrowing capacity, refinancing options, and the buffer you have for life’s surprises. Which is exactly why the start of a new financial year is the right moment to take stock.
Start with a home loan health check
When was the last time you looked closely at your home loan? Not just the repayment amount that leaves your account, but the rate you are paying, the features you are using, and how your loan compares to what is available in the market right now.
Lenders reserve their sharpest pricing for new customers, and the gap between front book and back book rates tends to widen in a rising rate environment. If your loan has been sitting untouched for two or more years, there is a reasonable chance you are paying a loyalty tax without knowing it. A health check costs nothing and often results in a repricing with your existing lender, even without refinancing.
Review your structure, not just your rate
The rate matters, but structure is where the real gains often sit. A few questions worth asking as FY27 begins:
- Is your offset account actually working for you, or is your savings buffer sitting somewhere it earns you nothing?
- Would fixing part of your loan give you certainty over the next 12 to 24 months, or would it cost you flexibility you are likely to need?
- Are your repayments set at a level that builds a buffer, or only at the minimum?
- If you hold an investment property, is your loan split structured in a way that keeps things clean for tax purposes from the very start of the financial year?
We are seeing a significant increase in enquiry around fixed rates and rate lock options as borrowers look to create certainty. Fixing is not the right answer for everyone, but it is a conversation worth having with current information in front of you rather than guesswork.
Put your equity to work, carefully
Property values in many Brisbane and Sydney markets have continued to hold firm, which means many homeowners are sitting on more equity than they realise. The start of a new financial year is a sensible time to understand what that equity could do for you, whether that is funding renovations, consolidating higher cost debt, or positioning for an investment purchase.
The key word is carefully. In a higher rate environment, any equity release needs to be structured around your actual capacity, not just what a calculator says. That is where good advice earns its keep.
If you are planning to buy
For buyers, the new financial year is the ideal launch point. Fresh payslips, completed tax returns, and updated financials for the self-employed give lenders a clean, current picture of your position. If you are planning a purchase in the second half of 2026, now is the time to understand your borrowing capacity under current rates and get your pre-approval in place. Capacity has shifted with every rate rise this year, so a pre-approval from six months ago is unlikely to reflect your position today.
Make FY27 count
None of this needs to be overwhelming. A single conversation is usually enough to identify whether your current setup is still right and what your options look like. The borrowers who navigate a rising rate environment best are not the ones who predict the market correctly. They are the ones who review regularly and act early.
If you would like a new financial year review of your home loan, or you are thinking about buying, renovating, or investing in the months ahead, we would love to hear from you.