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Repricing versus refinancing: which one should I do first?
Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 3 September 2026 · 3 min read
The short answer
Reprice first. Repricing is just asking your existing bank for a discount on your interest rate, and it doesn't cost you anything. Refinancing is the full move to another lender.
A reprice can be free money on the floor that you pick up from your bank. If you've repriced, or the bank says no, and there's a financial benefit we can justify in switching after the costs involved, then we move you to where you'll be treated best.
The one minute version. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.
Repricing: the free step
Repricing is asking your existing bank for a discount on your interest rate, whether that's me doing it on your behalf or you calling your bank's retention or discharge team and negotiating a new rate yourself. Nothing changes about the loan. Same bank, same account, lower rate.
It doesn't cost you anything, and it can be free money on the floor. The bank would rather give a discount than lose the loan, which is the whole reason a retention team exists. If you'd rather make the call yourself, here's how that conversation goes.
Refinancing: the real move
Refinancing is when we go, your bank isn't looking after you, let's move you to somewhere you're going to be treated better, and we actually go through the process of switching lenders. New application, new valuation, new loan.
It's the right call when the bank has either come to the party and it still isn't enough, or said no altogether, and there's a better offer elsewhere with a benefit we can justify. Not a feeling. A number, per year, after costs.
The switching budget
After we've factored in what's involved in switching, which is generally a budget of $1,000 to $1,200 for title transfer fees, discharge fees and any upfront fees with the new bank, then we switch you to where you're going to be treated best. If the saving doesn't clear that budget inside a reasonable window, it's not a refinance, it's a reprice you haven't asked for yet. The full cost breakdown is on what does refinancing actually cost.
The honest bit: I do both, every three months
Every client's loan gets reviewed on a three month cycle. Step one is always a reprice request to the current bank. Step two only happens if step one doesn't get you to where the market is. Most quarters it's step one and nothing else, which is exactly the point.
If a broker's first move is always a refinance, ask why. The bank pays a commission on a new loan and nothing on a reprice. My loyalty is to the number, not the move.
Want me to ask your bank first?
A 30 minute call. I look at what you're paying against what your bank gives new customers and what the market is doing, put the reprice request in, and only talk refinance if the answer isn't good enough.
No cost to you. The bank pays me when a loan settles. ยท How I get paid
Next question
What is a rate lock, and should I pay for one?If the refinance involves a fixed rate, read this before you apply.
Related answers
Do repayments auto-adjust after an RBA cut? What credit score do I need to refinance? Should I call my bank's retention team myself?Not your question? Book a call and ask it, or call 0437 189 939.