Everyone shops for property by purchase price. Almost nobody shops by what they'll actually pay, which is the monthly repayment, every month, for up to 30 years.
That's backwards. Let's fix it.
The 2026 reality
With the cash rate at 4.35 percent after three rises this year, variable owner occupier rates are sitting well above what anyone got used to during the cheap money years.
The difference compounds brutally. On a $700k loan over 30 years, each 1 percent of interest rate is roughly $400-plus a month. Move from a 5 percent world to a 6.5 percent world and you're paying around $650 more, every month, on the same loan. That's a car payment that buys you nothing.
This is why quoting the purchase price without the repayment is like quoting a gym membership without the monthly fee.
The traps in the maths
A few things people consistently get wrong.
Interest only sounds cheaper and is, temporarily. But you're not paying anything down, and when the interest only period ends, repayments jump hard because the principal now amortises over a shorter period.
The advertised rate isn't your rate. Comparison rates include fees. And your lender's loyalty tax is real: existing customers routinely pay more than new ones for the same product, which is why refinancing every few years is worth actual thousands.
And small extras are enormous over time. An extra $200 a month on that $700k loan saves a six figure sum in interest and years off the term. The maths of amortisation is boring and life changing.
Run your own numbers
Our mortgage repayment calculator shows your monthly figure at any loan size, rate and term, and what changes when rates move or you pay extra.
Do it before you inspect anything. The property you can afford is the one whose repayment fits your life with a buffer, not the one your maximum loan technically reaches. Not sure what you can actually borrow first? Start with our borrowing power calculator.
The other side of the equation
Repayments are set by two things: the rate and the loan size. Brokers fight the rate. Almost nobody fights the loan size, which is set by what you pay for the property.
Negotiating $25k off the purchase price cuts your repayments every month for 30 years. That's what a good buyer's agent is for. Converta matches you with a vetted one in your target market. Free, no obligation, first call within 24 hours.
Sources: RBA, 2026.