It’s been an eye-popping week for those hoping to predict the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) next cash rate move, with governor Michele Bullock playing both the bull and the bear.
The RBA board will meet on 7 November and, on the back of an upside inflation surprise, many experts are now predicting it will hike the cash rate by another 25 basis points.
That’s not news to NAB – economists at the big four bank have been tipping a November hike for months.
Whether that’s related to the 10 basis point increase to NAB’s variable interest rates put forward on Friday is hard to say.
NAB hikes variable interest rates by 10 basis points
The second largest of the big four banks by market cap, NAB, boosted the rates offered to new borrowers signing on to make principal and interest repayments on its basic variable rate home loans this week.
Those in the market for a new mortgage will want to learn of these changes:
- Owner occupier (loan-to-value ratio (LVR) ≤95%): 10 basis point increase to 6.59% p.a. (6.63% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Investor (≤90% LVR): 10 basis point increase to 7.11% p.a. (7.15% p.a. comparison rate*)
Notably, the variable rate the bank offers to investors remains lower than it was in early September. NAB dropped the rate by 96 basis points to 7.01% p.a. (7.05% p.a. comparison rate) in the middle of last month.
“We continue to make changes to our home loan pricing for new customers that reflect the changing cost of funds," a NAB spokesperson told InfoChoice Group.
Increasing home loan interest rates
NAB wasn’t the only bank upping interest rates this week, Bank Australia was among those getting in on the hiking action.
The bank bumped certain fixed interest rates up by as much as 35 basis points, with changes including:
- Investment Basic, P&I, fixed 5 years, ≤80% LVR: 35 basis point increase to 5.99% p.a. (6.01% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Premium Package, fixed 3 years, >90% LVR: 15 basis point increase to 6.39% p.a. (6.80% p.a. comparison rate*)
Meanwhile, AMP Bank boosted the fixed interest rates offered to those considering paying principal and interest repayments on some of Professional Package products. Increases include:
- Professional Package Residential, P&I, fixed 2 years, ≤80% LVR: 35 basis point increase to 6.59% p.a. (6.85% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Professional Package Residential, P&I, fixed 5 years, ≤80% LVR: 40 basis point increase to 6.84% p.a. (6.91% p.a. comparison rate*)
Decreasing home loan interest rates
But not all was dire for wishful homeowners this week.
A number of banks and lenders lowered the interest rates on offer to new borrowers - take Auswide Bank and Beyond Bank for example.
Auswide Bank slashed some of its one-year fixed home loan interest rates by as much as 60 basis points this week. Take a look:
- Freedom Package, P&I, fixed 1 year, 70%-80% LVR: 60 basis point decrease to 5.99% p.a. (6.73% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Freedom Package, P&I, fixed 1 year, ≤60% LVR: 20 basis point decrease to 5.99% p.a. (6.73% p.a. comparison rate*)
Beyond Bank also lowered some of its home loan interest rates this week, cutting some of its investor variable products by up to 10 basis points:
- Investment Purple Basic Variable, P&I, ≤60% LVR: 5 basis point decrease to 5.89% p.a. (5.92% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Investment Purple Basic Variable, P&I, 60%-80% LVR: 10 basis point decrease to 5.99% p.a. (6.02% p.a. comparison rate*)
Teachers, firefighters, and healthcare professionals: What you need to know
Finally, banks available exclusively to some of the nation’s most essential workers have been busy updating interest rates in an upwards trajectory this week.
Teachers Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, UniBank, and Firefighters Mutual Bank increased the variable interest rates on their respective Your Way Basic Home Loan products by 25 basis points.
UniBank, Firefighters Mutual Bank, and Health Professionals Bank are all divisions of Teachers Mutual Bank and their home loan products appear to overlap.
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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 Alberto Castillo Q. on Unsplash.
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