Why is the bank's advertised rate lower than what my broker quoted?

Usually because advertised rates are for a specific LVR tier and product. If your loan sits in a different tier, or you need different features, the rate will be different.

It's a pricing band based on your loan-to-value ratio, how much you're borrowing compared to the property's value. Lower LVR bands generally get lower rates.

Can a broker get the same rate as the bank's website?

A lot of the time, yes, and sometimes better through a pricing request. A handful of lenders do have direct-only rates brokers can't access.

Do I pay more going through a broker?

No. The lender pays the broker's commission when the loan settles. You pay the same rate and fees you'd be offered for that product.

How do I compare home loan rates properly?

Compare the same product, the same purpose, owner occupier or investment, the same repayment type and the same LVR tier, and look at the comparison rate as well as the headline rate.

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The bank's website has a lower rate than my broker found. Am I being ripped off?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 1 November 2026 · 3 min read

The short answer

No, your broker's not necessarily ripping you off. Your bank will typically advertise its rates in loan-to-value ratio tiers, which lean heavily on what your property is valued at. If you land in a different tier, you're not comparing apples with apples.

A lot of the time the rates we can offer as mortgage brokers are the same, and sometimes we can get pricing that's even better than what the bank is advertising online. So before you assume the worst, make sure you're comparing like for like.

The 60 second version, filmed from the driver's seat. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.

Why the website rate might not be your rate

Banks generally price home loans in tiers based on your loan-to-value ratio, which is how much you're borrowing compared to what the property is worth. The lower that percentage, the lower the rate tends to be. The headline rate on the website is usually the best tier, the one for people borrowing a smaller share of their property's value.

So if your property values into a different tier, the rate you're quoted will be different, and you're comparing apples with oranges, or bananas, or kiwifruit, depending on your flavour of the month. That isn't your broker hiding the good rate. It's the bank's pricing doing what it does, based on the valuation.

Other ways the comparison can be off

LVR isn't the only trap. The website rate is often tied to a specific product. A basic loan with no offset can carry a lower rate than a package loan with offsets and an annual fee, and an owner occupier rate is lower than an investor one. Principal and interest is priced lower than interest only. Fixed and variable are different again.

Then there's the comparison rate, which bakes in fees and is usually higher than the headline rate. If your broker is quoting you a product with an offset on an investment loan and you're looking at the bank's basic owner occupier rate online, those two numbers were never going to match. Line up the same product, the same purpose and the same tier before you judge.

Why a broker can often match or beat it

Brokers generally get access to the same rates the bank offers its own customers, and we can often ask for sharper pricing on top, because we can show the bank your file and tell them what another lender is offering. That pricing request is something most people never think to ask for when they go direct.

And I get to charge the bank for the work I do, not you. The bank pays me because it has gained a new customer it didn't have to market to. That's why you want a broker in your corner: someone comparing lenders for you, at no cost to you.

The honest bit: sometimes the website rate is one we can't get

A handful of lenders run direct-only or online-only rates that aren't offered through brokers at all. If the rate you've found is one of those, I'll tell you straight, and we can work out whether going direct actually beats what I can get once fees and features are on the table.

Either way, ask your broker to show you the like-for-like comparison. If they can't explain why the numbers differ, that's the conversation to have.

Found a rate online and want to know if it's real for you?

A 30 minute call. We look at your property's value, your LVR tier and the product you actually need, and compare it like for like.

Book a 30 minute call Call 0437 189 939

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Next question

What's an LVR tier, and can I get revalued to drop into a lower one?

Banks price loans in loan to value bands: 80%, then 70, 60, 50 below and 90, 95 above.