The holiday season is well and truly upon us and I have no doubt that many readers have started to wind down for the year.

But, there’s been no rest for the … *ahem* … lenders. 

Many well-known home loan providers increased the interest rates on offer to Aussie borrowers this week.

That’s despite there being no real suggestion of an upcoming increase to the cash rate. 

In fact, rate-watchers might have been relieved by this week’s labour force read, which showed the unemployment rate is tracking in line with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) expectations. 

Though, a February hike is still a possibility, according to economists at three of the big four banks. 

But enough of that. Here is the lowdown on which home loan lenders hiked interest rates in the third last week of 2023.

The following movements are likely for new customers only; existing ones might be unaffected. 

ING hikes variable home loan interest rates 

Considering taking out a variable rate home loan of more than $150,000? Well, the rate you could realise at ING may have just been bumped by 5 basis points.

Those of the Dutch-headquartered banking giant’s Mortgage Simplifier and Orange Advantage products increased this week, with changes including: 

  • Mortgage Simplifier, principal and interest repayments (P&I), <80% loan-to-value ratio (LVR): 5 basis point increase to 6.19% p.a. (6.22% p.a. comparison rate*)
  • Orange Advantage, variable, P&I, <80% LVR: 5 basis point increase to 6.19% p.a. (6.48% p.a. comparison rate*)
  • Investor Mortgage Simplifier, P&I, <80% LVR: 5 basis point increase to 6.39% p.a. (6.42% p.a. comparison rate*)
  • Investor Orange Advantage, P&I, <80% LVR: 5 basis point increase to 6.39% p.a. (6.67% p.a. comparison rate*)

Suncorp cuts some variable rates, hikes others

But it wasn’t all bad in variable rate land this week. 

Queensland bank Suncorp – which is still hopeful of an ANZ-led takeover – dropped the interest rates offered on interest only (IO), investor home loan specials. Changes include: 

  • Investment Back to Basics, IO, ≤60% LVR, Special Offer: 10 basis point decrease to 6.49% p.a. (6.40% p.a. comparison rate*) 
  • Investment Back to Basics, IO, 70%-80% LVR, Special Offer: 10 basis point decrease to 6.59% p.a. (6.41% p.a. comparison rate*) 
  • Investment Home Package Plus, IO, ≤70%, Special Offer: 10 basis point decrease to 6.59% p.a. (6.82% p.a. comparison rate*) 

However, those looking for an owner-occupier loan might be disappointed by an increase to the bank’s special offer rates, such as: 

  • Home Package Plus, P&I, 70-80% LVR, Special Offer: 5 basis point increase to 6.30% p.a. (6.65% p.a. comparison rate*) 
  • Back to Basics Better Together, P&I, 70-80% LVR, Special Offer: 5 basis point increase to 6.19% p.a. (6.20% p.a. comparison rate*) 

Suncorp’s special offer rates on its Back to Basics product are available to those who combine a home loan with a transaction account.

Bank Australia bolsters fixed home loan rates by up to 45 basis points

The sole fixed interest rate mover this week was Bank Australia, which hiked its fixed rates by as much as 45 basis points. 

Owner-occupiers signing on to a new fixed rate loan through the bank can now expect to realise rates such as these: 

  • Basic Home Loan, fixed one year, 60.01%-80% LVR: 30 basis point increase to 6.59% p.a. (6.29% p.a. comparison rate*) 
  • Basic Home Loan, fixed three years, 60.01%-80% LVR: 20 basis point increase to 6.44% p.a. (6.31% p.a. comparison rate*) 
  • Basic Home Loan, fixed five years, 60.01%-80% LVR: 30 basis point increase to 6.54% p.a. (6.40% p.a. comparison rate*) 

Australian Unity ups variable rates on Kick Starter product

Finally, the last lender rounding out this week’s home loan movers and shakers is Australian Unity. 

Those keeping a close eye on Australia’s banking space will have seen Australian Unity in headlines earlier this week.

In what one customer described as a “classic bait [and] switch”, the bank announced it will drop the interest rate offered on its market-leading unconditional savings account just weeks after increasing it to 5.50% p.a. 

The new special offer rates on Australian Unity’s Kick Starter home loan product are: 

  • Kick Starter Discounted Variable, P&I, ≤70% LVR: 5 basis point increase to 6.08% p.a. (6.07% p.a. comparison rate*)
  • Kick Starter Discounted Variable, P&I, 80-90% LVR: 10 basis point increase to 6.44% p.a. (6.43% p.a. comparison rate*) 

Compare some of the market's best home loan interest rates

Image by Alex Robert on Unsplash.



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