One of Australia’s most prestigious banks, Bankwest started out as a two-person government sponsored bank for WA farmers at the turn of the 20th century. Today, it is a part of Australia’s largest financial services provider and is the recipient of multiple awards, including the title of Bank of the Year for three consecutive years. While Bankwest is known for having a tough credit scoring system, for those who do qualify, expect decent interest rates and flexibility for first time home buyers.
Enjoy a home loan rate lower than the rest
For owner occupied loans, Bankwest offers one of the lowest interest rates on the market for an introductory three-year period with the Equaliser Home Loan. You’ll pay 1.51% less than the average of the standard variable rates of ANZ, NAB, and Westpac for the first three years of your mortgage term. To give you, even more, flexibility, you can always redraw funds online without having to pay any fees. Right now, Bankwest is offering to waive the $695 application fee.
A hassle-free deal to combine your accounts into one flexible package
This is Bankwest’s most fully featured home loan package. You can bundle your loan with a qualifying credit card and a 100% offset account. If you expect to take advantage of these benefits, you can save a lot more each year than the $395 fee for the bundling package. Choose between a variable or fixed rate loan; you can also split or fix your loan when you want without having to pay any transfer fee. Thinking of investing? You can also package Bankwest’s Complete Equity loan product to use your built up equity to make a second property purchase.
For the flexible owner occupier or investor
A variable rate home loan package that is flexible enough to cater to owner-occupier applicants or investors. Set-up a repayment cycle to suit your circumstances (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) and enjoy free access to extra repayments via your online account.
Keep it simple with a flexible discounted variable rate
Pay nothing in annual fees and repay your home loan faster with a 100% offset account and the ability to make extra repayments whenever you want to. As long as you are borrowing less than 80% of the purchase price, you can also enjoy a low discounted variable rate. For added convenience, you have the option to redraw funds online when you have surplus money available.
Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with consistent repayments
Get the peace of mind of a fixed rate as well as great savings, like a $400 reduction on the application fee. You can choose between 1 and 5-year fixed rate terms. This is an excellent option for first time home buyers who don’t have a large deposit to work with yet want the security of predictable monthly repayments. You can borrow up to 90% of the property’s value.
Bankwest made interest rate cuts in early March 2020.
The current Bankwest interest rate differs between products. Interest rates for specific products can be viewed (and compared) above.
Some Bankwest home loan products will offer borrowers up to nine offset accounts per home loan.
Most Bankwest home loans require a deposit of at least 10% however, options such as securing a family guarantee may be worth looking into if you are low on savings.