The home loan market appears to have finally taken a breath following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) November hike, just in time for the board’s December meeting.
The RBA board will meet on Tuesday to decide whether to hike the cash rate one last time in 2023.
The cash rate dictates many factors, including how much banks have to pay to borrow the funds they typically provide to home loan borrowers.
Thus, hiking the cash rate tends to result in home loan interest rates being hiked in turn.
Read more: Home loan rate changes after the RBA's 0.25% November rise
Interestingly, however, one of Australia’s banking mainstays actually cut variable interest rates this week.
If you’re in the market for a new home loan or considering refinancing, check out the changes lenders made this week.
Bendigo Bank slashes variable rates by up to 135 basis points
Bendigo Bank, which once marketed itself as the leading competitor to Australia’s big four banks, slashed the rates on a certain home loan product this week.
Some of the variable rates available on the bank’s Complete Home Loan offering for borrowers with loan-to-value ratios (LVR) of 80% and over now include:
- Complete Home Loan, variable, principal and interest (P&I), 80%-90% LVR: 100 basis point decrease to 6.49% p.a. (6.71% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Complete Home Loan, variable, P&I, 90%-95% LVR: 35 basis point decrease to 7.39% p.a. (7.61% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Investment Complete Home Loan, variable, P&I, 80%-90% LVR: 90 basis point decrease to 6.89% p.a. (7.11% p.a. comparison rate*)
Bendigo Bank’s moves come just a fortnight after it hiked all variable rates by 25 basis points on the back of the RBA’s latest hike.
Which lenders hiked variable home loan rates this week?
But it wasn’t all good news for variable rate borrowers this week.
HSBC, Unity Bank, and Australian Mutual Bank were among those hiking variable interest rates, with the trio upping its offerings by as much as 25 basis points.
HSBC hiked many of its variable home loan rates by 25 basis points, with its special offers now including:
- Home Loan Package, variable, P&I, <60% LVR: 25 basis point increase to 6.09% p.a. (6.46% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Home Loan Package, variable, P&I, 60%-70% LVR: 25 basis point increase to 6.14% p.a. (6.51% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Home Loan Package, variable, P&I, 70%-80% LVR: 25 basis point increase to 6.19% p.a. (6.56% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Home Loan Package, variable, P&I, >80% LVR: 25 basis point increase to 6.49% p.a. (6.85% p.a. comparison rate*)
Unity Bank also bolstered its offered variable home loan interest rates by up to 25 basis points this week.
The new variable rate on the bank’s standard ‘no frills’ home loan is:
- Advantage Home Loan Standard: 25 basis point increase to 8.59% (8.67% p.a. comparison rate*)
Finally, Australian Mutual Bank increased its variable interest rates by 20 basis points this week. It’s standard variable rate now sits at:
- Standard Variable Rate Home Loan: 25 basis point increase to 6.44% p.a. (6.51% p.a. comparison rate*)
Bank Australia also hiked many of its variable rates, along with its fixed rate offerings this week.
These lenders bolstered fixed rates this week
Bank Australia has upped a plethora of home loan rates by as much as 20 basis points, with some of its fixed rate offerings now coming in at:
- Basic Fixed, one year, ≤80% LVR: 15 basis point increase to 6.29% p.a. (6.26% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Basic Fixed, two years, ≤80% LVR: 15 basis point increase to 6.24% p.a. (6.25% p.a. comparison rate*)
Mutual bank IMB has also hiked many of its owner-occupier fixed home loan rates, with changes including:
- Residential, fixed, P&I, three years, ≤80% LVR: 20 basis point increase to 5.99% p.a. (6.32% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Residential, fixed, P&I, five years, ≤80% LVR: 10 basis point increase to 6.09% p.a. (6.32% p.a. comparison rate*)
And finally, Unity Bank makes its second appearance in this week’s home loan rate wrap, having upped its fixed interest rates too, with changes including:
- Advantage, P&I, fixed, one year, ≤95% LVR: 25 basis point increase to 6.89% p.a. (8.50% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Advantage, P&I, fixed, three years, ≤95% LVR: 15 basis point increase to 6.79% p.a. (8.14 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 | Max LVR | Lump Sum Repayment | Additional Repayments | Split Loan Option | Tags | Features | Link | Compare | Promoted Product | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6.04% p.a. | 6.08% p.a. | $3,011 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $530 | 90% | 4.6 Star Customer Ratings |
| Promoted | Disclosure | |||||||||
5.99% p.a. | 5.90% p.a. | $2,995 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 80% | Apply in minutes |
| Promoted | Disclosure | |||||||||
6.09% p.a. | 6.11% p.a. | $3,027 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $250 | 60% |
| Promoted | Disclosure |
Image by Valentina Locatelli on Unsplash.
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