Does a pre-approval still count after interest rates rise?

Not at the old amount. When you go for formal approval, the bank reassesses you at the rates and buffer it applies at that time, so higher rates generally mean a lower borrowing capacity.

How long does a home loan pre-approval last?

Most pre-approvals are generally valid for around 90 days. After that you'll need to renew it, and the bank will reassess you at current rates.

Why does my borrowing capacity drop when rates go up?

Banks test whether you could afford repayments at your rate plus a buffer, usually around 3%. When rates rise, the tested rate rises too, so the same income supports a smaller loan.

Do I need a new pre-approval before making an offer?

If yours is old or rates have moved since, yes, it's worth rerunning your numbers first so you know your real limit before you commit to an offer.

Home / Straight Answers / Old pre-approval

Straight Answers · First home

My pre-approval was from back in June. Does it still count after all these rate rises?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 16 October 2026 · 3 min read

The short answer

No. If your bank has fully assessed your application, it will reassess you at the new interest rates before it formally approves, and that changes how much you can borrow.

So don't assume a pre-approval from the past is still good today. Rerun your numbers and make sure they're still affordable before you go out making offers on the strength of an old letter.

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

Why a pre-approval doesn't freeze your borrowing

A pre-approval is the bank saying: based on your income, debts and spending, and on rates as they were that day, here's roughly what we'd lend you. It's a snapshot. It isn't a promise that holds no matter what happens to rates afterwards.

When you find a place and go for formal approval, the bank looks at your application again using the rates and buffer it's applying at that point. After the rate rises this year, that assessment is tougher than it was in June. Same income, same debts, smaller number. So for you that means the figure on your old letter may simply not exist anymore.

How the rate rises flow through

Banks don't test you at the rate you'll actually pay. Most add a buffer of around 3% on top and check you could still afford the repayments at that higher rate. When the actual rate goes up, the tested rate goes up with it.

That's why a few rate rises can move your borrowing capacity by tens of thousands even though your repayments only went up a bit. The bank's stress test is pushing the same amount of income against a higher pretend rate. It's not personal. It's arithmetic, and it's the same arithmetic every lender runs, with slightly different settings.

And it's probably expired anyway

Most pre-approvals are generally valid for around 90 days. June to now is well past that, so even before you think about rates, there's a good chance yours has lapsed and needs to be redone.

Redoing it isn't a big job. If your income and debts haven't changed much, it's mostly updated payslips and statements, and we run you through the lenders again. You come out knowing your real number today, not the one you had in winter.

The honest bit: this is the trap I see the most

People get really excited, think their pre-approval is still valid, go out and make an offer at the old number, and get caught out when the formal approval comes back lower. That's the worst time to find out, with an offer on the table and a deadline running.

Rerunning your numbers takes a lot less time than unwinding that. Don't get caught in that trap.

Want your numbers rerun at today's rates?

A 30 minute call. We take your old pre-approval, update your income and debts, and run you through the lenders again so you know what you can actually borrow before you make an offer.

Book a 30 minute call Call 0437 189 939

No cost to you. The bank pays me when a loan settles. · How I get paid

Next question

Pre-qualified, pre-approved, conditional, unconditional: what do the stages actually mean?

Pre-qualified is me saying you'll be approved. Pre-approved is the bank saying it.