The latest Canstar Cannex packaged home loan star ratings has listed the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) as the number one home loan deal in the country with a mortgage rate of 6.04% despite the loan’s huge annual fees of $350.

It has been revealed today that online home loan lender MyRate.com.au is not only offering a cheaper interest rate than the leading star-rated lenders - but it is doing so without the heavy annual fee or any upfront fees on standard applications.

Managing Director of MyRate.com.au, Kevin Sherman said: “If families paid the typical $350 packaged loan annual fee into a MyRate.com.au loan instead, they’d shave almost two years off their loan*! That’s two years less of struggling and stress, and two more of enjoying their very own dream home.”

* based on a loan of $300,000 over the course of 25 years

The Canstar Cannex Media Release has been reproduced below for your perusal:

If you’re in the market for a home loan, real savings can be made by upsizing to a package loan with its free credit card and transaction account included in the deal.

Releasing its latest package banking star ratings, CANSTAR CANNEX compared 57 packages from 29 institutions to award five-star packages to three types of borrowers – home buyers, property investors and the self-employed.

With 9 out of 10 home loans now written by banks and almost 60% of banks’ new loans taken as part of a package, it’s easy to see the bank’s dominance continuing to ramp up.

“Traditionally, non-bank lenders offered the lowest mortgage rate but the unstable funding environment has thrown up an opportunity for banks to steal market share from non-banks by selling more loans with a lower margin,” CANSTAR CANNEX Financial Analyst Frank Lopez said.

“Banks are grabbing this opportunity with both hands and concentrating heavily on package banking as a major component of their new business.”

According to CANSTAR CANNEX data, the Commonwealth Bank now offers the lowest mortgage package rate – 6.04% for a $250k loan.

Packaged banking offers value for money and convenience for those who like to do all their banking with the one institution and save money at the same time.

The major drawcard of a loan package is the home loan itself with its discounted interest rate. This discount applies for the life of the loan, as opposed to an introductory rate which applies only for a certain period.

The package deal is sweetened with the addition of a free transaction account and a free credit card. “This all comes for an annual fee of between $195 and $750, fairly steep but tempered largely by the home loan discount,” Mr Lopez said.

“There’s no doubt the simplicity of paying one annual fee to cover most of your everyday banking needs works for most borrowers. It is wise, however, to do the sums before signing up to ascertain exactly how much better off you would be with a package loan compared to stand-alone banking products.”

More information can been found directly at the Canstar Cannex Website here.