Both Qudos Bank and Freedom Lend made adjustments to construction home loan rates in the past week in a possible bid to attract HomeBuilder grant recipients.
The $25,000 HomeBuilder grant is available for people building a home up to the value of $750,000 including land value.
Qudos Bank's cuts were:
- Construction Home Loan 80%: 50 basis point cut to 2.89% p.a. (2.93% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Construction Home Loan 90%: 50 basis point cut to 2.99% p.a. (3.03% p.a. comparison rate*)
Qudos Bank also made cuts to its investment construction loans, but investment properties are not eligible for HomeBuilder.
Meanwhile, Freedom Lend made a smaller cut by 3 basis points to its construction loan, down to 2.68% p.a. (2.70% p.a. comparison rate*)
This rate is applicable for both 80% and 90% LVR borrowers, which is unusual given lenders usually charge a higher rate if borrowers have a smaller deposit.
Compared to others in the construction loan market, this is how these two lenders stack up:
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6.14% p.a. | 6.20% p.a. | $2,047 | Interest-only | Variable | $0 | $835 | 70% | |||||||||||
6.43% p.a. | 6.68% p.a. | $2,143 | Interest-only | Variable | $0 | $530 | 90% |
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6.43% p.a. | 6.68% p.a. | $2,143 | Interest-only | Variable | $0 | $530 | 90% | |||||||||||
6.45% p.a. | 6.20% p.a. | $2,515 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $1,520 | 60% | |||||||||||
6.74% p.a. | 6.42% p.a. | $2,247 | Interest-only | Variable | $0 | $600 | 90% | |||||||||||
6.92% p.a. | 6.95% p.a. | $2,307 | Interest-only | Variable | $0 | $300 | 80% | |||||||||||
6.94% p.a. | 7.19% p.a. | $2,313 | Interest-only | Variable | $0 | $530 | 80% | |||||||||||
7.09% p.a. | 7.45% p.a. | $2,363 | Interest-only | Variable | $0 | $500 | 80% | |||||||||||
7.81% p.a. | 7.84% p.a. | $2,882 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $600 | 69.99% | |||||||||||
8.29% p.a. | 8.62% p.a. | $3,016 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 80% | |||||||||||
8.56% p.a. | 8.58% p.a. | $2,853 | Interest-only | Variable | $0 | $600 | 69.99% | |||||||||||
8.68% p.a. | 8.75% p.a. | $2,893 | Interest-only | Variable | $0 | $800 | 95% |
The 2% barrier got breached again
Earlier in the week, challenger brand loans.com.au introduced a home loan with a variable interest rate below the 2.00% p.a. barrier, down to 1.99% p.a. (2.55% p.a. comparison rate*).
The sub-2% rate is available for the first year, before the rate then reverts to 2.57% p.a.
The online lender also launched a two year discounted variable rate of 2.09% p.a.(2.71% p.a comparison rate*) which reverts to 2.79% p.a. after two years.
Both products are limited to borrowers with a maximum LVR of 80%, with a maximum loan amount of $1 million.
This is how loans.com.au's 1.99% p.a. introductory home loan stacks up against other competitive variable-rate home loans on the market:
| 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 | 70% | Featured Online ExclusiveUp To $4K Cashback |
| |||||||||
5.99% p.a. | 5.90% p.a. | $2,396 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 80% | Featured Apply In Minutes |
| |||||||||
6.14% p.a. | 6.16% p.a. | $2,434 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $250 | 60% | Featured Unlimited Redraws |
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At the end of June, Bank of Us also breached the 2.00% barrier with 1.99% fixed rates across a suite of fixed-rate terms, although these are only available for Tasmanian residents.
Hobart was one of the only capital cities to record a home price growth in the June quarter, according to a Domain report, and had the second-strongest home price growth at 10% on the year, with Sydney in first.
Community First and Horizon Bank continue customer-owned cutting trend
In continuing the trend of customer-owned institutions cutting home loan rates, on Monday Community First virtually scrubbed the fixed home loan deck, making a wide variety of cuts by 20 basis points.
Some of its freshly cut rates include:
- Fixed P&I 3 Years: Down to 2.49% p.a. (3.56% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Accelerator Package Fixed P&I 3 Years: Down to 2.34% p.a. (3.80% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Investment Fixed P&I 3 Years: Down to 2.79% p.a. (3.86% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Inv Accelerator Package Fixed 3 Years: Down to 2.64% p.a. (4.09% p.a. comparison rate*)
Yesterday, Horizon Bank cut a few fixed rates for investors and owner-occupiers by 30 basis points. The new rates are:
- Fixed 1 Year: Down to 2.69% p.a. (3.45% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Fixed 2 Years: Down to 2.69% p.a. (3.38% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Inv Fixed 1 Year: Down to 2.94% p.a. (3.69% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Inv Fixed 2 Years: Down to 2.94% p.a. (3.63% p.a. comparison rate*)
CommBank has reported a spike in fixed rate lending in recent months, with around 40% of all new owner-occupier loans at fixed rates.
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