In Broken Hill, in the far west, paying down a house cost about $96 per week. The analysis examined median prices across the state and compared them to what mortgage repayments would cost at current loan rates. Albury Railway Station in Albury – one of the NSW’s cheapest major towns. Picture: Tourism NSW The average loan rate is 3.5 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, but some loan products offer rates as low as 1.88 per cent. Rates have never been this low. Home ownership costs were by the far the highest in Sydney, with mortgage repayments well above $1000 per week in many suburbs.