A lot of homeowners assume their equity position hasn’t moved much lately, especially with all the talk about a cooling property market. For plenty of people, that assumption is out of date.
According to PropTrack data, house prices rose in 85% of suburbs across Australia over the past 12 months, and unit prices rose in 90% of suburbs. Even in the suburbs where prices did fall, around half of those declines were smaller than 3%. In other words: this hasn’t been a broad downturn. It’s been patchy, and the patches that grew have grown for a lot of people.
Why softening headlines don’t tell the whole story
You’ll have seen the headlines about the market losing steam. They’re not wrong, exactly – Cotality’s tracking shows national dwelling values have eased in recent months. But “eased in recent months” and “wiped out a year of growth” are two very different things. Cotality’s own figures still show values well above where they sat a year ago, even after the recent softening.
That’s the bit that gets lost in translation. A market can cool off month to month and still be sitting on a solid year of gains underneath. If your property was worth $700,000 a year ago and it’s grown even modestly since, that growth is equity – real, usable equity – regardless of what happened in the last month or two.
Why equity is the key to a better refinance
Here’s where it gets practical. Once you’re sitting on at least 20% equity in your property, a full refinance opens up without needing to pay lenders mortgage insurance – a cost that can otherwise run into the thousands. If your equity position has crept up over the past year without you really noticing, you might be a lot closer to that threshold than you think.
And lenders want your business right now. Competition between banks for new customers is strong, which means better rates and more attractive terms are genuinely on the table for borrowers who’ve got the equity to bring to the table.
The real question: is your current loan still doing its job?
This isn’t about assuming everyone should refinance immediately – your current lender might still be offering a perfectly competitive deal. But “might” is doing a lot of work in that sentence, and a lot of borrowers haven’t checked in years.
A home loan review isn’t a big commitment. It’s a look at where your equity sits, what rate you’re currently paying, and what’s realistically available to you elsewhere. Sometimes that conversation ends with “you’re already in a good spot.” Other times it uncovers a few thousand dollars a year sitting on the table.
Key takeaways
- PropTrack data shows house prices rose in 85% of Australian suburbs and unit prices in 90% over the past year
- Even declining suburbs mostly saw modest falls – this has been a patchy market, not a broad downturn
- Cotality data confirms dwelling values remain well above year-ago levels despite recent monthly softening
- 20%+ equity typically means you can refinance without paying lenders mortgage insurance
- Lender competition for new customers is currently strong, which favours borrowers looking to switch
If it’s been a while since you checked where your equity actually sits, it’s worth finding out. Get in touch with Clockwork Finance for a home loan review – based in Richmond, Melbourne, and helping borrowers refinance right across Australia.
