Borrow
Aussies wasting $4bn per year on bad mortgages
Australian home owners are wasting more than $4 billion every year on inefficient or unhelpful mortgage repayments, according to a report.

Aussies wasting $4bn per year on bad mortgages
Australian home owners are wasting more than $4 billion every year on inefficient or unhelpful mortgage repayments, according to a report.

According to research by uno, a home loan broker and management service, home loans are one of the key drivers of financial waste for Australians, with an estimated $4.2 billion lost annually to unnecessary mortgage interest costs.
The uno household financial waste report dug deeper into a 2018 ACCC finding that “existing borrowers who do not actively shop around for a better deal on a regular basis are the main losers from opaque discretionary pricing”.
According to the report, unnecessary mortgage interest costs are “possibly the most insidious” driver of Australian financial waste as mortgage expenses are usually thought of as “seeming unavoidable expenses”.
Uno CEO Anthony Justice said there are a number of factors that explain why consumers aren’t taking action on sub-par home loans, since “most home owners purchase or refinance their home feeling confident they’re on a good rate – and they usually are”.
He said cracks only begin to show a few years down the track, “by which time consumers no longer think about their home loan as something they should be fighting to get a good deal on”.
According to uno, external factors like interest rates, the changing value of property, shifting personal financial situations and new lending products entering the market can all impact how well a loan is performing.
So, after a couple of years, a “good deal” may become a source of significant household financial waste, it was explained.
Of concern to the report writers was uno’s finding and flagging of the fact that more than half (53 per cent) of home owners don’t even know what their current interest rate is, while 59 per cent of people have never asked their bank or broker for a better rate on their home loan.
An even higher proportion of mortgagees (78 per cent) have also never had a conversation about strategies for paying off a home loan faster, the report also said.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
About the author

About the author


Loans
Home lending surge shatters records with $24bn in loans
The total value of loan commitments for investor housing rose 6 per cent month-on-month to reach $5.6 billion in November last year, as the property market heated up in the lead-up to Christmas. ...Read more

Loans
Mortgages slashed 6,777 times in 2020
Record-low interest rates have seen lenders make almost 7,000 cuts to home loans throughout 2020, but mortgage-holders and investors remain disinterested in getting a better rate, new research has rev...Read more

Loans
Aussies urged to avoid holiday debt
Christmas presents, New Year’s drinks, travel plans… December is an expensive time of year, but while the wallet can be on the slim side in January, Aussies are being urged to be careful when turn...Read more

Loans
Consumer groups slam axing of safe lending laws
One hundred and twenty-five organisations have banded together to oppose the federal government’s proposed relaxation of responsible lending laws, arguing it will hurt consumers and the broader e...Read more

Loans
‘Most Australians are through the worst’ as mortgage repayments resume
In a positive sign for the Australian economy, nearly 7 in 10 Australians who paused payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic have resumed repaying their mortgages, new figures have shown. ...Read more

Loans
Non-majors announce rate cuts
A number of non-major lenders have announced that they will pass on the full RBA rate cut to all existing variable rate home loan borrowers. ...Read more

Loans
Big 4 cut interest rates
Westpac, CBA, NAB and ANZ have all reduced their fixed rate home loans and some business loans following the Reserve Bank’s reduction of the official cash rate. ...Read more

Loans
What the RBA’s rate cut means for you
The RBA has slashed the official rate cut to a new record low of 0.10 per cent, but what does that mean for you? ...Read more

Loans
Home lending surge shatters records with $24bn in loans
The total value of loan commitments for investor housing rose 6 per cent month-on-month to reach $5.6 billion in November last year, as the property market heated up in the lead-up to Christmas. ...Read more

Loans
Mortgages slashed 6,777 times in 2020
Record-low interest rates have seen lenders make almost 7,000 cuts to home loans throughout 2020, but mortgage-holders and investors remain disinterested in getting a better rate, new research has rev...Read more

Loans
Aussies urged to avoid holiday debt
Christmas presents, New Year’s drinks, travel plans… December is an expensive time of year, but while the wallet can be on the slim side in January, Aussies are being urged to be careful when turn...Read more

Loans
Consumer groups slam axing of safe lending laws
One hundred and twenty-five organisations have banded together to oppose the federal government’s proposed relaxation of responsible lending laws, arguing it will hurt consumers and the broader e...Read more

Loans
‘Most Australians are through the worst’ as mortgage repayments resume
In a positive sign for the Australian economy, nearly 7 in 10 Australians who paused payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic have resumed repaying their mortgages, new figures have shown. ...Read more

Loans
Non-majors announce rate cuts
A number of non-major lenders have announced that they will pass on the full RBA rate cut to all existing variable rate home loan borrowers. ...Read more

Loans
Big 4 cut interest rates
Westpac, CBA, NAB and ANZ have all reduced their fixed rate home loans and some business loans following the Reserve Bank’s reduction of the official cash rate. ...Read more

Loans
What the RBA’s rate cut means for you
The RBA has slashed the official rate cut to a new record low of 0.10 per cent, but what does that mean for you? ...Read more