After slashing its fixed home loan rates last week, Macquarie Bank is dropping its variable rates this week, leading the drift downwards for many lenders.
This week’s inflation data has buoyed confidence the Reserve Bank of Australia will keep the cash rate steady at its first meeting for 2024 next week.
On Wednesday, the official Consumer Price Index figures showed Australia’s headline inflation rate has fallen to an annual rate of 4.1% for the year ending December.
The quarterly rate showed inflation slowed to 0.6%, its smallest quarterly rise since March 2021.
Analysts are now largely unanimous there won’t be any rise to the cash rate next week and that interest rates will begin to fall this year, some forecasting a cut as early as June.
On that note, let's check home loan rate movements this week.
Macquarie trims variable rates
Amid surging confidence of no change in the cash rate on Tuesday, Macquarie Bank has cut its variable home loan rates this week after taking the razor to its fixed rates last week.
Macquarie has trimmed its variable rates on a range of its owner-occupier and investment loans between 9 and 21 basis points.
The bank is now offering 6.15% p.a. (6.17% p.a. comparison rate*) for its basic and offset variable owner occupied, principal and interest loans with a loan-to value ratio (LVR) of 70% or less.
Here are its other Basic home loan rates for varying LVRs:
- Basic Variable Owner Occupied PI ≤80: 11 basis point decrease to 6.19% p.a. (6.21% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Basic Variable Owner Occupied PI ≤90: 21 basis point decrease to 6.39% p.a. (6.41% p.a. comparison rate*)
- Basic Variable Owner Occupied PI ≤95: 11 basis point decrease to 7.19% (7.22% p.a. comparison rate*)
HSBC slashes its fixed home loan rates
Joining the party, the international bank has made some bold cuts to its fixed rates this week with widespread drops of between 45 and 80 basis points on a range of its owner-occupier and investment home loan products.
HSBC's headline product is its Home Loan Package Owner Occupier Fixed principal and interest home loan 60-80% LVR, fixed for four years.
It’s dropped a notable 80 basis points to 5.69% p.a. (6.37% p.a. comparison value*).
Other rate droppers this week
Bank Australia has decreased its fixed interest rates on a raft of home loans by up to 20 basis points.
Orange Credit Union has also squeezed its fixed rates lower, dropping its one, two, and three-year fixed mortgages from between 30 basis points and 1%.
It’s now offering 5.94% p.a. (7.3% p.a. comparison rate*) for a one-year fixed rate home loan.
Meantime, Greater Bank has cut a raft of its variable and fixed rate loans this week between five and 45 basis points, while Bank of Sydney has also dropped its investment variable home loan rates by 10 basis points.
Rate rises this week
But not all lenders were on the downhill slope.
IMB Bank has raised a range of three-year residential and investment fixed rate loans by up to 20 basis points.
Its Residential Fixed principal and interest loan, locked in for three years, with ≤80% LVR has edged 10 basis points higher to 6.09% p.a. (6.35% p.a. comparison rate*).
Also this week, Great Southern Bank has increased its offset variable home loans up to 25 basis points while Queensland’s RACQ Bank has also instituted an across-the-board 10 basis point rate rise on a wide range of its mortgage products.
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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 Extra Repayments Split Loan Option Tags Features Link Compare Promoted Product Disclosure
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