The useful distinction
Rate setting, repayment method, and facility design are separate choices.
"Fixed versus floating" tells you how the interest rate behaves. "Table, interest-only, revolving, or offset" tells you how the debt and cash move. A split loan combines portions with different settings.
Six structures to recognise
Fixed
You want predictable repayments and do not expect to need the money early.
Trade-off: Certainty can cost flexibility if rates fall or your plans change.
Check: Expiry dates, extra-repayment limits, portability, and break costs.
Floating / variable
You can absorb rate changes and value lump sums or repayment changes.
Trade-off: Your repayment can rise when the rate moves up.
Check: A realistic rate-rise buffer and the lender’s repayment-change process.
Revolving credit
Income is uneven or you have a clear plan to keep surplus cash in the facility.
Trade-off: Redraw access can make the balance drift back up.
Check: The limit, required reduction, fees, and your spending controls.
Offset
You keep meaningful savings or family-linked balances and want them accessible.
Trade-off: A higher floating rate can outweigh the benefit if balances are usually low.
Check: Which accounts qualify, linking limits, and what happens when savings are spent.
Split / combination
You want some certainty while keeping a planned flexible portion.
Trade-off: More portions mean more rates, dates, and decisions to track.
Check: The size of the flexible portion and a review calendar for every expiry.
Reverse mortgage
A later-life homeowner wants to release equity while continuing to live in the home.
Trade-off: Interest can accumulate and reduce future equity or estate value.
Check: Age and occupancy rules, independent legal advice, drawdown limits, and repayment triggers.
Major-bank product names, translated
Read across each row to see how different banks label the same underlying structure. A dash means that structure was not identified in the bank material reviewed. Product names and eligibility can change; this is a research comparison, not a recommendation.
| Bank | Fixed | Floating / variable | Revolving credit | Offset | Split / combination | Reverse mortgage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANZ ↗ | ANZ Home Loan — fixed | ANZ Home Loan — floating | ANZ Flexible Home Loan | — | ANZ Home Loan — split | — |
| ASB ↗ | Fixed rate home loan | Housing Variable | Orbit | — | Fixed + Housing Variable | — |
| BNZ ↗ | Standard home loan — fixed | Standard home loan — floating | Rapid Repay | TotalMoney | Standard + TotalMoney | — |
| Westpac ↗ | Choices Fixed | Choices Floating / Choices Everyday Floating | Choices Everyday Floating | Choices Floating with Offset | Choices Fixed + Floating | — |
| Kiwibank ↗ | Fixed home loan | Variable home loan | Revolving home loan | Offset home loan | Fixed + Variable / Offset | — |
| SBS Bank ↗ | Home Loan — fixed | Residential floating | — | — | FirstHome Combo | — |
| TSB ↗ | Fixed home loan | Variable home loan | Revolving home loan | — | Combination home loan | — |
| Heartland ↗ | — | — | — | — | — | Heartland Reverse Mortgage |
The full source register and research notes are saved in the project's docs/research folder.
How to choose without pretending to predict rates
Protect the payment
Fixing can suit a household that needs a known payment and expects to stay put through the term.
Protect the option
Floating, offset, or revolving can suit planned lump sums, uneven income, or accessible savings.
Protect the future
Split portions when the household has two different needs—but keep a review date for every portion.
- What cash event could occur before the next expiry?
- How much rate movement can the household absorb?
- Would accessible credit be used carefully or gradually spent?
- What are the early-repayment, redraw, linking, and fee rules?
- Is the chosen term consistent with children, work, health, sale, or retirement plans?
Two examples, in full
The wider household mortgage details stay on the individual profiles and can be brought into future scenarios when relevant. These two examples show how the structure decision becomes part of a real household story.
Stability first
Priya & Amit Rao
Priya and Amit have a large owner-occupied table loan and a fixed expiry in April 2027. Priya values a known payment and a stable household budget; Amit is more comfortable comparing the next refix. Their immediate question is not simply which rate is lowest—it is how much certainty they need while preserving enough room for a future change.
Likely discussion: keep most of the balance fixed, then review a split before expiry if their cash buffer, income, or rate tolerance has changed. A long fix may protect the budget but could create break costs if they sell, refinance, or need to restructure early.
What to verify: the exact fixed portion, remaining term, extra-repayment allowance, portability, and any break-cost estimate.
Flexibility with discipline
Anika Shah
Anika has an offset home loan, a strong savings history, and a January 2027 review point. Her structure can work well when meaningful cash stays in linked accounts because the savings reduce the interest charged while remaining accessible. If the balance is usually low, however, a higher floating rate may cost more than the offset saves.
Likely discussion: compare the average linked balance with the rate premium, keep an emergency reserve, and consider fixing the core balance while retaining a deliberately sized flexible portion.
What to verify: which accounts qualify, whether family balances can be linked, the average balance held, fees, and the rules for changing or refixing each portion.
This page is general information only. It does not recommend a bank or structure, calculate borrowing capacity, predict rates, or replace advice from a licensed financial advice provider. Product terms and rates can change.