Athena Home Loans & Rates Comparison

Athena is an online-only, non-bank lender that offers a range of variable and fixed loans for almost no fees with innovative features that aim to help borrowers pay off their mortgage faster. But how does it compare based on rates? Let's take a look.

Athena has two variable rate home loans that offer different levels of inclusions and interest rates based on different loan-to-value ratio (LVR) tiers.

Athena’s fixed rate home loan has no fees, can be split with a variable loan and lets borrowers make extra repayments. Fixed durations are available for up to three years with LVR bands up to 80% available.

Athena offers the same suite of variable home loans to investors with different rates. Its AcceleRATES initiative means that the interest rate will decrease the more that the loan is paid off.

Athena has interest-only products in both its fixed and variable rate options, that let borrowers pay just the interest for up to 5 years, then the principal amount is added to repayments.

Investors can also access an interest-only repayment option from Athena's variable and fixed rate home loans.

Athena’s home loan rates are relatively competitive, especially given the features it offers but there are sharper rates in the market.

Its variable rates are more closely aligned to the bigger lenders than its fixed rates, but overall it tends to still be a bit higher. Athena generally offers better rates for borrowers with a low LVR band, but its rates increase with the size of the loan relative to the property value.

Athena’s fairly middle-of-the-road rates are partially balanced out by its low fees and AcceleRATES program that reduces rates the more you pay down the loan. While these can be useful benefits for some borrowers, it’s worthwhile comparing options from other lenders to ensure that you're getting the best home loan rate for you.

Compare Athena's home loan rates to other non-major lenders:

• Bankwest home loan rates

• Suncorp Bank home loan rates‍

• Macquarie Bank home loan rates

• ING home loan rates

• Unloan home loan rates

• St.George Bank home loan rates

Athena’s lowest rate currently available is from its variable Straight Up Obliterate Home Loan with a 0-50% LVR.

For a fixed home loan Athena’s lowest rate is seen for their one-year fixed term for owner occupiers with an LVR band up to 50%. Given the low LVR requirement, this product is likely going to be better suited to borrowers looking for a low refinance home loan rate.

Non-major banks

Think ING, HSBC, Bendigo, Suncorp Bank etc. In terms of products and processes, these will be very similar to the big 4 banks who lead the trends in banking in Australia. But non-major banks often have lower rates and special offers (e.g. refinance cashback) in order to be competitive versus the bigger lenders. The non-major banks are still well-known brands with high-quality online tools systems.

Customer-owned

There are dozens of small member-owned banks and credit unions in Australia. Many are focussed on customers in a particular regional area, or even workers in a certain profession. These lenders often have the lowest rates in the market and personalised customer service, but the eligibility criteria may be more limited and the application process can be slow.

Non-bank lenders

Australian borrowers also have plenty of choice among non-bank home loan providers. Some are mainstream lenders (often online only) offering loans to your typical home loan borrowers. Others specialise in offering loans to cater for specific borrowers and scenarios, such as self-employed borrowers, bad credit borrowers or SMSF loans.