Lenders cut home loan rates in anticipation of RBA decision

Photo by Tommy Pequinot on Unsplash

A wide range of lenders - mainly regional - cut interest rates in the past few days in the lead up to a Reserve Bank decision next Tuesday.

While Westpac revised its cash rate forecast to expect a cut in November, many lenders have cut their home loan rates by between 6 and 35 basis points in the past few days.

Notably, Pacific Mortgage Group also introduced a 1.99% p.a. variable home loan rate (1.99% p.a. comparison rate*).

It's for owner-occupiers paying principal & interest with a maximum LVR of 60% - directed at those with either a large deposit or those refinancing. 

This makes Pacific Mortgage Group the 12th lender in Savings.com.au's research to cut below the 2.00% advertised rate threshold. 

More rate changes are below.

Buying a home or looking to refinance? The table below features home loans with some of the lowest variable interest rates on the market for owner occupiers.

Adelaide Bank

Adelaide Bank cut a wide range of home loans, mainly for investors, but with a few 'SmartSaver' owner-occupier loans sprinkled in. Some key cuts are below:

• Investment SmartFix P&I 4 Years: 20 basis point cut to 2.94% p.a. (3.23% p.a. comparison rate*)
• OO SmartFix P&I 4 Years: 20 basis point cut to 2.64% p.a. (2.94% p.a. comparison rate*)

A range of other fixed term home loans paying both P&I and interest-only (IO) were also cut.

BankVic

Yesterday, BankVic made a wide array of home loan cuts by between 11 and 35 basis points. Some key cuts were:

• Premium Home Fixed 3 Years: 35 basis point cut to 2.15% p.a. (3.66% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Fixed 3 Years: 35 basis point cut to 2.25% p.a. (3.53% p.a. comparison rate*)

These rates are for owner-occupiers, with the 'Premium' line being a packaged home loan.

Athena

A few days ago, non-bank lender Athena made some cuts by between 5 and 15 basis points. Some of the rate changes were:

• Liberate Investor P&I 70-80% LVR: 15 basis point cut to 2.79% p.a. (2.74% p.a. comparison rate*)
• Liberate Owner-Occupier P&I 70-80% LVR: 10 basis point cut to 2.44% p.a. (2.38% p.a. comparison rate*)

These home loans are on Athena's tiered rate system, which automatically puts borrowers onto lower rates as they pay down their home loan. 

Hunter United

Hunter United cut one home loan today, its two-year fixed home loan for owner-occupiers paying P&I.

It received a 20 basis point cut down to 2.19% p.a. (2.71% p.a. comparison rate*)

IMB

IMB also made a 20 basis point cut on its residential fixed loan for two years paying P&I.

It is now down to 2.19% p.a. (3.10% p.a. comparison rate*)

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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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