The 2026 guide to Australian SMSF lending – who is active, current LVR caps and policy quirks across the ~12 specialist SMSF lenders writing new business. Skip the legacy major-bank story and target the right lender first time.
*Indicative SMSF lending rates as at May 2026. Lender appetite changes monthly.
Borrowing power, repayments, projected rental income and side-by-side personal vs SMSF tax – live, with no signup required.
Australia-wide · Updated for FY 2026
Total funds currently held in your self-managed super fund.
Combined concessional + non-concessional contributions per year.
Estimated purchase price of the SMSF investment property.
Australian state where the property is located, sets the stamp duty rate.
% of the property value you want to borrow. Specialist SMSF lenders offer up to 90% LVR.
Max Borrowing Power
$600,000
Deposit Required
$150,000
Stamp Duty (NSW)
$41,250
Indicative estimate based on your inputs. For a personalised borrowing assessment and full PDF report, book a free 15-min call below.
Your personalised PDF report covers full borrowing power, tax savings, stamp duty & loan options based on your inputs above. Delivered by Brokerly, one of Australia's most awarded individual mortgage brokerages. No cost, no obligation.
The Big Four pulled out of new SMSF lending years ago. The current market is served by specialist non-banks (Granite, Thinktank, La Trobe, RedZed, Liberty, Firstmac, Bluestone, Mortgage Mart and others), each with their own LVR caps, contribution-multiplier formulas and security policies.
Some lenders count concessional contributions at 6x annualised, others at 8x. A few accept rental income at 80%, others 70%. 90% LVR programs require 6-12 months of contribution history and proof of $50,000+ liquidity post-settlement. Wrong lender = wrong outcome.
Specialist SMSF variable rates start around 5.99% p.a. for 70% LVR vanilla deals, climbing to 6.49-6.99% for 90% LVR specialist programs. 3-year fixed pricing is currently 6.24-6.74% p.a. with most lenders. Application fees average $1,500-$3,000.
Pre-2019 SMSF loans were largely commoditised at the Big Four. The 2026 market is the opposite – two lenders quoting the same property can come out 0.40% apart on rate and $200,000 apart on borrowing capacity. Broker access matters more than ever.
The Big Four exited new SMSF lending in 2018-2019. The market is now served by ~12 specialist lenders including Granite, Thinktank, La Trobe Financial, RedZed, Mortgage Mart, Liberty, Firstmac and Bluestone, plus a handful of credit unions for member-related transactions.
SMSF lending uses a Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement so the lender's recourse is restricted to the asset in the bare trust. This single-asset structure forces stricter serviceability, smaller LVRs and a 0.50-1.50% rate premium versus standard property lending.
Yes. Specialist SMSF lending volume has grown ~14% YoY through 2025-2026 driven by 90% LVR product launches and trustees rotating from low-yield super assets into residential and commercial property inside their fund.
SMSF lending supports residential investment property, commercial real estate (office, industrial, retail), business real property leased to a member's business, and rural property in some lender policies. Off-the-plan and house-and-land are restricted by most lenders.
Specialist SMSF loan approval typically takes 4-6 weeks from application to formal approval, longer than standard residential lending due to bare-trust review, fund deed checks and SMSF auditor sign-off requirements.
Yes, although most lenders prefer SMSFs with at least 12 months of trading history. A handful of specialist lenders accept newly established SMSFs provided the trustees can demonstrate consistent contribution capacity and adequate liquidity buffers.
Compare specialist SMSF loans head-to-head.
90% LVR residential SMSF home loan rates and policy.
SMSF mortgage vs personal investment mortgage.