ANZ, NAB, Bendigo, ING cut home loan rates below 3%

Photo by David Libeert on Unsplash

Banks such as NAB, ANZ, Bendigo Bank and ING have cut numerous fixed and variable home loan rates to below 3.00% p.a. in the wake of the most recent Reserve Bank interest rate cut.

With four cuts to the official cash rate under our belt, interest rates on home loans have never been this low, and it could be a great time to compare and switch.

The big four banks surprised many by passing on the full rate cut almost immediately, and now a few of them are offering interest rates below 3.00% p.a. on a select few fixed and variable home loan products.

Smaller lenders are spreading the love to fixed home loan rates as well, with one starting from as low as 2.49% p.a. We've summarised many of these changes below.

Thinking about refinancing to a low-rate, variable owner-occupier home loan? The table below displays some of the lowest-rate variable home loans currently on the market for owner occupiers:

ANZ home loan rate cuts

Big four bank ANZ has swung the axe across a number of its fixed and variable home loan products by up to 35 basis points, but there's one in particular worth mentioning.

Borrowers with a Simplicity Plus home loan making principal and interest (P&I) repayments and an LVR (loan-to-value ratio) of up to 80% will now enjoy a low 2.87% p.a. rate (2.91% p.a. comparison rate*).

NAB home loan rate cuts

First home buyers with a big deposit will be happy to hear that NAB has cut rates too.

The Choice Package First Home Buyer Special 2 years for borrowers with a loan size of $150k+ has been cut by nine basis points to 2.79% p.a. (4.12% p.a. comparison rate*).

NAB has also made cuts to a few of its fixed home loan products:

Tailored Fixed

• Tailored fixed P&I two years has been cut by nine basis points to 2.99% p.a. (4.38% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Tailored fixed P&I three years has been cut by nine basis points to 2.99% p.a. (4.25% p.a. comparison rate*)

Choice Package 

• Choice Package Tailored Fixed P&I one year 150K+ has been cut by two basis points to 2.99% p.a. (4.24% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Choice Package Tailored Fixed P&I two years $150k+ has been cut by nine basis points to 2.89% p.a. (4.14% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Choice Package Tailored Fixed P&I three years $150k+ has been cut by two basis points to 2.99% p.a. (4.12% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Choice Package Tailored Fixed P&I four years $150k+ has been cut by two basis points to 2.99% p.a. (4.02% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Choice Package Tailored Fixed P&I five years $150k+ has been cut by two basis points to 2.99% p.a. (3.95% p.a. comparison rate*)

Bendigo Bank home loan rate cuts

It's been a busy week for Bendigo Bank, what with a rebranding and now facing the prospect of abandoning its $50 million capital raising following a sharp slide in the company's stock price amid a bloodbath on the ASX 200.

All of this hasn't stopped Bendigo from cutting home loan rates though, dropping by as much as 60 basis points in the last week. 

Basic Fixed Owner Occupier

• Basic Fixed Owner Occupied P&I one year has been cut by 60 basis points to 2.99% p.a. (3.41% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Basic Fixed Owner Occupied P&I two years has been cut by 20 basis points to 2.79% p.a. (3.35% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Basic Fixed Owner Occupied P&I three years has been cut by 40 basis points to 2.79% p.a. (3.32% p.a. comparison rate*)

ING home loan rate cuts

ING now has a number of home loan interest rates starting with a '2' for borrowers with fixed home loans.

Orange Advantage Residential

• Orange Advantage Residential Fixed one yr 150k+ has been cut by 25 basis points to 2.64% p.a. (4.22% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Orange Advantage Residential Fixed two yrs 150k+ has been cut by 30 basis points to 2.59% p.a. (4.06% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Orange Advantage Residential Fixed three yrs 150k+ has been cut by 35 basis points to 2.49% p.a. (3.89 p.a. comparison rate*)
• Orange Advantage Residential Fixed four yrs 150k+ has been cut by 25 basis points to 2.74% p.a. (3.84 p.a. comparison rate*)
• Orange Advantage Residential Fixed five yrs 150k+ has been cut by 25 basis points to 2.74% p.a. (3.73 p.a. comparison rate*)

Residential Fixed

• Residential Fixed one year has been cut to 2.74% p.a. (4.22% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Residential Fixed two years has been cut to 2.69% p.a. (4.08% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Residential Fixed three years has been cut to 2.59% p.a. (3.92 p.a. comparison rate*)
• Residential Fixed four years has been cut to 2.84% p.a. (3.87 p.a. comparison rate*)
• Residential Fixed five years has been cut to 2.84% p.a. (3.77 p.a. comparison rate*)

Investment Fixed P&I

• Investment Fixed P&I one year has been cut to 2.89% p.a. (4.84% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Investment Fixed P&I two yrs has been cut to 2.84% p.a. (4.64% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Investment Fixed P&I three yrs has been cut to 2.74% p.a. (4.44% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Investment Fixed P&I four yrs has been cut to 2.99% p.a. (4.36% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Investment Fixed P&I five yrs has been cut to 2.99% p.a. (4.22% p.a. comparison rate*)

Investment Fixed IO

• Investment Fixed IO two yrs has been cut to 2.99% p.a. (5.07% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Investment Fixed IO three yrs has been cut to 2.89% p.a. (4.91% p.a. comparison rate*)

AMP home loan rate cuts

AMP has slashed rates by as much as 138 basis points in the last week for three-year fixed home loans. 

Professional Package Residential Fixed

• Professional Package Residential Fixed P&I three yrs has been cut by 64 basis points to 2.49% p.a. (4.02% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Professional Package Residential Fixed IO three yrs has been cut by 138 basis points to 2.95% p.a. (4.12% p.a. comparison rate*)

Professional Package Investment Fixed

• Professional Package Investment Fixed P&I three yrs has been cut by 57 basis points to 2.85% p.a. (4.58% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Professional Package Investment Fixed IO three yrs has been cut by 65 basis points to 2.99% p.a. 4.61% p.a. comparison rate*)

Should I fix my home loan?

To fix or not to fix? You may be asking yourself that with all these rate cuts making fixed home loans look like an increasingly attractive proposition.

But there are a few things to consider when choosing between a fixed or a variable home loan.

The biggest benefit of a fixed home loan is cash flow certainty. If you're the type of person who likes the certainty of knowing what your rates are and what your repayments will be over the next few years, fixing your rate could be an option worth considering.

Similarly, if you're on a tight budget and are worried about how you would cope in the event rates were to go up again, fixing your loan could be worth it.

But fixing your rate can also be a bit of a gamble. If the Reserve Bank decides to cut interest rates again in April, lenders may follow by cutting their home loan rates even further - which means you've already locked yourself in to a higher rate. 

But whichever way you split it, most home loan interest rates are still the lowest they've ever been (remember when 19% interest rates were a thing?)

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Disclaimers

The entire market was not considered in selecting the above products. Rather, a cut-down portion of the market has been considered which includes retail products from at least the big four banks, the top 10 customer-owned institutions and Australia’s larger non-banks:

• The big four banks are: ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac
• The top 10 customer-owned Institutions are the ten largest mutual banks, credit unions and building societies in Australia, ranked by assets under management in November 2020. They are (in descending order): Credit Union Australia, Newcastle Permanent, Heritage Bank, Peoples’ Choice Credit Union, Teachers Mutual Bank, Greater Bank, IMB Bank, Beyond Bank, Bank Australia and P&N Bank.
• The larger non-bank lenders are those who (in 2020) has more than $9 billion in Australian funded loans and advances. These groups are: Resimac, Pepper, Liberty and Firstmac.

Some providers' products may not be available in all states. To be considered, the product and rate must be clearly published on the product provider's web site.

In the interests of full disclosure, Savings.com.au, Performance Drive and Loans.com.au are part of the Firstmac Group. To read about how Savings.com.au manages potential conflicts of interest, along with how we get paid, please click through onto the web site links.

*Comparison rate is based on a loan of $150,000 over a term of 25 years. Please note the comparison rate only applies to the examples given. Different loan amounts and terms will result in different comparison rates. Costs such as redraw fees and costs savings, such as fee waivers, are not included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan.

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