In the market for a new house? Maybe you’re keeping your eye out for a better deal to refinance to. Or maybe you’re just curious as to whether your home loan interest rate is still competitive.
If any of the above applies to you, you’ll love the latest rendition of Savings.com.au’s weekly home loan market wrap.
This week, one of the nation’s most recognisable banks hiked its fixed rate offerings by as much as 40 basis points, while two of its customer-owned competitors slashed variable home loan rates.
All that movement came despite the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cash rate remaining put at 4.10%.
Bendigo Bank hikes fixed rates by up to 40 basis points
Leading the way with the biggest home loan interest rate changes of the week is Bendigo Bank.
The 165-year-old institution hiked the fixed interest rates on its online-only home loan offerings by as much as 40 basis points this week. Those paying attention will remember the bank dropped some of its variable rate offerings around a month ago.
If you’re looking to buy your next home, you might be interested in these changes:
- Express Fixed principal and interest (P&I) 2 years ≤90% loan to value ratio (LVR): 25 basis point increase to 6.24% per annum (p.a.)( 5.93% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Express Fixed interest only (IO) 2 years ≤90% LVR: 5 basis point increase to 6.64% p.a. (6.21% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Express Fixed P&I 1 year ≤90% LVR: 17 basis point increase to 6.34% p.a. (5.93% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Express Fixed P&I 5 years ≤90% LVR: 35 basis point increase to 6.29% p.a. (6.12% p.a. comparison rate*)
For investors, these modifications might catch your eye:
- Investment Express Fixed IO 1 year ≤90% LVR: 10 basis point increase to 6.74% p.a. (6.25% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Investment Express Fixed P&I 2 years ≤90% LVR: 15 basis point increase to 6.49% p.a. (6.22% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Investment Express Fixed P&I 4 years ≤90% LVR: 35 basis point increase to 6.49% p.a. (6.31% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Investment Express Fixed P&I 5 years ≤90% LVR: 40 basis point increase to 6.54% p.a. (6.37% p.a. comparison rate*)
‘Great’ banks making great (and not so great) moves
Turning to customer-owned lenders, and two similarly named mutual banks have made similarly sized home loan rate moves, albeit in opposing directions.
Starting with the more favourable shift; Greater Bank has been making more moves, decreasing certain fixed rates by 20 basis points.
The changes might impact investors turning to the bank for their next home loan, who might notice drops like:
- Ultimate Investment P&I Fixed 4 years ≤95% LVR: 20 basis point decrease to 6.09% p.a. (7.50% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Ultimate Investment P&I Fixed 2 years ≤95% LVR: 15 basis point decrease to 5.89% p.a. (7.74% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Great Rate Investment Fixed P&I 2 years ≤95% LVR: 15 basis point decrease to 5.89% p.a. (7.57% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Great Rate Investment Fixed P&I 4 years ≤95% LVR: 20 basis point decrease to 6.09% p.a. (7.29% p.a. comparison rate*)
Meanwhile, Great Southern Bank upped some of its fixed home loan interest rates by up to 25 basis points after lowering variable rates last week. Its latest changes include:
- Fixed IO 3 years ≤90% LVR: 25 basis point increase to 6.79% p.a. (7.53% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Fixed P&I 2 years ≤95% LVR: 15 basis point increase to 6.49% p.a. (7.55% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Investment Fixed IO 3 years ≤90% LVR: 25 basis point increase to 6.89% p.a. (7.86% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Investment Fixed P&I 5 years ≤90% LVR: 25 basis point increase to 6.79% p.a. (7.61% p.a. comparison rate*)
The duo dropping variable interest rates this week
Finally, there’s been downwards movement in variable home loan interest rate land too, with another pair of member-owned banks making attention-grabbing moves.
Heritage Bank and People’s Choice both shifted down a gear, lowering variable rates by 10 basis points.
If the former bank is on your radar and you’re hoping to borrow with an LVR of between 70% and 80%, you might want to check out changes like these:
- Discount Variable 70%-80% LVR $150k+: 10 basis point decrease to 5.79% p.a. (5.81% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Home Advantage Variable 70%-80% LVR $700k+: 10 basis point decrease to 5.89% p.a. (6.21% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Home Advantage Investment Variable P&I 70%-80% LVR $250k-$699k: 10 basis point decrease to 6.19% p.a. (6.51% p.a. comparison rate*)
While the latter mutual is now offering variable rates like these to borrowers with LVRs of between 60% and 80%:
- Home Loan Package Standard Variable P&I $100k+ 60%-80% LVR: 10 basis point decrease to 5.79% p.a. (6.16% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Home Loan Package Investor Standard Variable IO $100k+ 60%-80% LVR: 10 basis point decrease to 6.34% p.a. (6.51% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Home Loan Package Investor Standard Variable P&I $100k+ 60%-80% LVR: 10 basis point decrease to 6.04% p.a. (6.41% p.a. comparison rate*)
This comes after the joint outfit, yet to decide on a name, posted a upbeat 2022-23 financial year result this week.
Net profit after tax totalled $32.1 million, while its deposit book grew 3.5% and its residential lending portfolio grew 5.2%.
The merged entity, which was finalised in March, is now Australia's largest customer-owned bank.
“We’ve not only grown our membership, lending, deposits and assets, we’ve also maintained high levels of customer satisfaction, built a strong values-based employee culture and delivered a solid profit despite the costs of integration,” CEO Peter Lock said.
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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 |
| |||||||||
5.99% p.a. | 5.90% p.a. | $2,396 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 80% | Featured Apply In Minutes |
| |||||||||
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 Digital Marketing Agency NTWRK on Unsplash.
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