The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) board made another cash rate decision this week, keeping the rate at 4.35% at its final meeting of 2023.
Inflation is still a concern for the central bank – being 1.9 percentage points above the top of its target level (4.9% compared to 3%) for the month of October.
However, it chose to take a ‘wait and see’ approach following November’s hike.
“Holding the cash rate steady at this meeting will allow time to assess the impact of the increases in interest rates on demand, inflation, and the labour market,” RBA Governor Michele Bullock said.
While the cash rate remained on ice this week, home loan interest rates offered by some of Australia’s largest lenders were bolstered.
Topping it off, one of the nation’s biggest customer owned banks – and its notable subsidiaries – also shook up home loan interest rates.
The rates listed below are for new borrowers and existing borrowers mightn’t be impacted.
ANZ & Macquarie increase variable home loan rates
Two of Australia’s five largest lenders by market capitalisation have bumped their variable home loan rates as much as 10 basis points higher.
Big four bank ANZ has increased its special offer interest rates available to eligible borrowers. Changes for owner occupiers include:
- ANZ Simplicity PLUS home loan, <60% loan-to-value (LVR) ratio: 10 basis point increase to 6.54% p.a. (6.54% p.a. comparison rate*)
- ANZ Simplicity PLUS home loan, 70%-80% loan-to-value (LVR) ratio: 10 basis point increase to 6.64%% p.a. (6.64% p.a. comparison rate*)
- ANZ Simplicity PLUS home loan, >90% loan-to-value (LVR) ratio: 10 basis point increase to 7.64% p.a. (7.64% p.a. comparison rate*)
While investors may be able to realise these new special rates:
- ANZ Simplicity PLUS Residential Investment loan, <60% loan-to-value (LVR) ratio: 10 basis point increase to 6.69% p.a. (6.69% p.a. comparison rate*)
- ANZ Simplicity PLUS Residential Investment loan, 70%-80% loan-to-value (LVR) ratio: 10 basis point increase to 6.84% p.a. (6.84% p.a. comparison rate*)
- ANZ Simplicity PLUS Residential Investment loan, >90% loan-to-value (LVR) ratio: 10 basis point increase to 7.99% p.a. (7.99% p.a. comparison rate*)
Macquarie Bank also hiked interest rates on many of its variable home loan products this week, with changes such as:
- Basic Variable Owner Occupied, principal and interest (P&I), <60% LVR: 10 basis point increase to 6.24% p.a. (6.26% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Offset Variable Owner Occupied, P&I, 60%-70% LVR: 10 basis point increase to 6.24% p.a. (6.49% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Basic Variable Investment, P&I, 70%-80% LVR: 10 basis point increase to 6.54% p.a. (6.57% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Offset Variable Investment, P&I, <60% LVR: 10 basis point increase to 6.44% p.a. (6.69% p.a. comparison rate*)
Teachers Mutual and subsidiaries shake up fixed and variable rates
Australia's sixth-largest customer-owned bank, Teachers Mutual Bank Limited, made notable changes to home loan interest rates, with both fixed and variable rates moving as much as 85 basis points.
The brand is behind Teachers Mutual Bank, as well as Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, and UniBank.
Each of the banks offer a Your Way Home Loan product, the rates on which were shifted this week:
- Your Way Basic Home Loan, variable, P&I, ≤80% LVR, $150k+: 25 basis point increase to 6.14% p.a. (6.20% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Your Way, P&I, fixed one year, <90% LVR: 10 basis point increase to 6.54% p.a. (6.24% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Your Way, P&I, fixed two years, <90% LVR: 5 basis point increase to 6.49% p.a. (6.27% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Your Way, P&I, fixed three years, <90% LVR: 5 basis point decrease to 6.39% p.a. (6.27% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Your Way, P&I, fixed four years, <90% LVR: 85 basis point decrease to 6.59% p.a. (6.37% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Your Way, P&I, fixed five years, <90% LVR: 75 basis point decrease to 6.69% p.a. (6.45% p.a. comparison rate*)
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Buying a home or looking to refinance? The table below features home loans with some of the lowest interest rates on the market for owner occupiers.
Lender | Home Loan | Interest Rate | Comparison Rate* | Monthly Repayment | Repayment type | Rate Type | Offset | Redraw | Ongoing Fees | Upfront Fees | LVR | Lump Sum Repayment | Additional Repayments | Split Loan Option | Tags | Features | Link | Compare |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6.04% p.a. | 6.06% p.a. | $2,408 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $530 | 90% | Featured 4.6 Star Customer Ratings |
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5.99% p.a. | 5.90% p.a. | $2,396 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 80% | Featured Apply In Minutes |
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6.09% p.a. | 6.11% p.a. | $2,421 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $250 | 60% | Featured Unlimited Redraws |
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Image by Florian Schmidinger on Unsplash.
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