Keep in mind, all of the following rates likely apply to new customers only.
Unity Bank home loan rate cuts
The member-owned bank has thrown down the gauntlet, dropping the variable interest rate for its First Home Buyer Advantage Plus loans by 25 basis points across the board.
Unity Bank's 5.99% p.a. interest rate applies to new loans with both principal and interest (P&I) (5.99% p.a. comparison rate*) and interest only (IO) (6.67% p.a. comparison rate*) repayments and for loan-to-value (LVR) ratios <60% up to 95%.
The new rate is among the lowest variable interest rates on the market – and has a few sweeteners thrown in.
As part of the deal for new sign-ups, Unity Bank will waive its establishment, valuation, settlement, and legal fees and throws in a 100% offset account on all its variable loans.
The deal is only for first home buyers and buyers purchasing through Housing Australia and Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper scheme.
| Owner Occupier | P&I | IO | ||
| Interest rate | Comparison rate* | Interest rate | Comparison rate* | |
| LVR <60% | 5.99% p.a. | 5.99% p.a. | 5.99% p.a. | 6.76% p.a. |
| LVR 60-80% | 5.99% p.a. | 5.99% p.a. | 5.99% p.a. | 6.67% p.a. |
| LVR 80-90% | 5.99% p.a. | 5.99% p.a. | 5.99% p.a. | 6.67% p.a. |
| LVR 90-95% | 5.99% p.a. | 5.99% p.a. | 5.99% p.a. | 6.76% p.a. |
The loans also come with no monthly fees and can be paid monthly, fortnightly, or weekly.
They like to do things different in Queensland
With the flurry of lenders dropping fixed rate home loans over the past few months, Bank of Queensland has gone its own way and lifted rates on its Residential Fixed Rate loans by 10 basis points on Friday.
Fixed rates have generally been on the slide, likely in anticipation of a widely forecast fall in the cash rate by the end of 2024.
This week, the Reserve Bank of Australia released the minutes of last month's RBA board meeting, which showed the central bank didn't appear to consider hiking the cash rate in March.
Mortgage holders will no doubt be pleased to hear it, but it certainly doesn't mean all interest rates are heading down in anticipation.
Rates on the home loan market fluctuate regularly, driven by competition, strategic moves, and the business models of individual lenders.
For some insight on broader economic matters, Bank of Queensland's chief economist Peter Munckton recently spoke to the Savings Tip Jar podcast.
But back to BoQ's fixed rate climb which takes its headline fixed rate product, its Residential Fixed 3-year Discount Rate for owner occupier P&I 80-90% LVR to 5.89% p.a. (6.37% p.a. comparison rate*).
Here are its other new fixed home loan rates:
| Fixed rate loan | New rate | Comparison rate* |
| Residential 2 years (P&I) | 6.24% p.a. | 6.48% p.a. |
| Residential 3 years (P&I) | 6.24% p.a. | 6.47% p.a. |
| Residential 4 years (P&I) | 6.34% p.a. | 6.49% p.a. |
| Residential 5 years (P&I) | 6.44% p.a. | 6.53% p.a. |
| Residential 2 years Discount Rate LVR 80-90% | 5.89% p.a. | 6.41% p.a. |
| Residential 3 years Discount Rate LVR 80-90% | 5.89% p.a. | 6.37% p.a. |
| Residential 4 years Discount Rate LVR 80-90% | 5.99% p.a. | 6.37% p.a. |
| Residential 5 years Discount Rate LVR 80-90% | 6.09% p.a. | 6.38% p.a. |
Not ME too: ME Bank cuts Flexible Fixed Rates up to 60 bps
Bank of Queensland may own ME Bank but here's some proof the two may have different lending strategies.
ME Bank has taken the axe to many of its Flexible Fixed P&I home loans, slashing some rates by up to 60 basis points.
The biggest cut - 60 basis points - was on its five-year Flexible Fixed Rate ≤ 80% LVR taking the new rate to 6.14% p.a. (7.53% p.a. comparison rate*).
The two-year Flexible Fixed Rate loan for LVR ≤ 80% is now 5.94% p.a. (8.10% p.a. comparison rate*), a drop of 30 basis points.
It's the same rate being offered for a three-year fixed term which dropped by 20 basis points.
AMP Bank varies rates on Professional Package loans
AMP Bank has tweaked variable interest rates on its Professional Package owner occupier and investment home loans for loan amounts of $1 million and over.
Rates have generally edged up five basis points with a 10-basis point jump in the bank's Professional Package Owner Occupied Line of Credit loan.
But there's been a 35-basis point drop in Professional Package owner occupier P&I variable loans for LVR ≤60% and ≤80%, taking the new rates to 6.14% p.a. (6.49% p.a. comparison rate*).
Regional Australia Bank shifts rates on more than 80 loan products
The bank based in Armidale, New South Wales has adjusted rates on a raft of home loans this week with the largest variation at 19 basis points.
Interest rates for Regional Australia Bank’s home loans mainly headed higher although in keeping with the recent trend among lenders, it dropped a handful of its fixed rates.
Its fixed rate owner occupier P&I home loans for <60% LVR are now under well under the 6% p.a. mark for terms between one and five years.
However, rates have increased for higher LVRs and IO fixed rate loans while the bank’s mortgage offset P&I loans for owner occupiers for <60% to 95% LVR all climbed 15 basis points.
GMCU joins the sub-6% club
Goulburn Murray Credit Union, based in northern Victoria, has dropped rates on its one- and two-year fixed rate home loans, taking both rates to 5.99% p.a. (7.64% p.a. comparison rate* - one year; 7.48% p.a. comparison rate* - two years).
One-year fixed home loans fell by 30 basis points while the two-year fixed rate was cut by 10 basis points.
The regional credit union also cut the rate on its one-year fixed rate investment loan by 20 basis points to 6.29% p.a. (8.31% p.a. comparison rate*).
The new rate now matches the three-year investment fixed rate of 6.29% p.a. (7.91% p.a. comparison rate*), which jumped 10 basis points this week, defying the downward trend.
Bank of China lifts investor loan rates
Finally, Bank of China increased its Discount Plus Investment Home Loans by 10 basis points this week.
Here are the new rates:
| Loan (P&I) | Loan amount | New rate | Comparison rate* |
| Discount Plus Investment Home Loan | $100,000-$1m | 6.48% p.a. | 6.84% p.a. |
| Discount Plus Investment Home Loan | $1,000,001-$2m | 6.38% p.a. | 6.75% p.a. |
| Discount Plus Investment Home Loan | $2,000,001 and above | 6.28% p.a. | 6.65% p.a. |
The Bank of China’s Discount Plus Investment Home Loans all come with full offset facilities.
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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 |
|
Image by Pat Whelan on Unsplash
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