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.

Update resultsUpdate
Filters
LenderHome LoanInterest Rate Comparison Rate* Monthly Repayment Repayment type Rate Type Offset Redraw Ongoing Fees Upfront Fees LVR Lump Sum Repayment Additional Repayments Split Loan Option TagsFeaturesLinkCompare
6.04% p.a.
6.06% p.a.
$2,408
Principal & Interest
Variable
$0
$530
70%
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  • Immediate cashback upon settlement
  • $2,000 for loans up to $700,000
  • $4,000 for loans over $700,000
5.99% p.a.
5.90% p.a.
$2,396
Principal & Interest
Variable
$0
$0
80%
 Featured Apply In Minutes
  • No application or ongoing fees. Annual rate discount
  • Unlimited redraws & additional repayments. LVR <80%
  • A low-rate variable home loan from a 100% online lender. Backed by the Commonwealth Bank.
5.99% p.a.
6.51% p.a.
$2,589
Principal & Interest
Variable
$0
$530
90%
Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

Base criteria of: a $400,000 loan amount, variable, fixed, principal and interest (P&I) home loans with an LVR (loan-to-value) ratio of at least 80%. However, the ‘Compare Home Loans’ table allows for calculations to be made on variables as selected and input by the user. Some products will be marked as promoted, featured or sponsored and may appear prominently in the tables regardless of their attributes. All products will list the LVR with the product and rate which are clearly published on the product provider’s website. Monthly repayments, once the base criteria are altered by the user, will be based on the selected products’ advertised rates and determined by the loan amount, repayment type, loan term and LVR as input by the user/you. *The Comparison rate is based on a $150,000 loan over 25 years. Warning: this comparison rate is true only for this example and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Rates correct as of . View disclaimer.

Image by Alberto Castillo Q. on Unsplash.



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