Following arguably the most tumultuous year in the Reserve Bank's (RBA) history, the last Board meeting of the year is likely to be the least interesting, as any change to monetary policy seems extraordinarily unlikely. 

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.

Update resultsUpdate
LenderHome LoanInterest Rate Comparison Rate* Monthly Repayment Repayment type Rate Type Offset Redraw Ongoing Fees Upfront Fees Max LVR Lump Sum Repayment Additional Repayments Split Loan Option TagsFeaturesLinkCompare
5.69% p.a.
6.16% p.a.
$2,319
Principal & Interest
Fixed
$0
$530
90%
Featured
  • Available for purchase or refinance. 90% LVR
  • Fast turnaround times. Can meet 30-day settlement
  • No monthly or ongoing fees, split with low-rate variable loan
Disclosure
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.
Disclosure
6.09% p.a.
6.11% p.a.
$2,421
Principal & Interest
Variable
$0
$250
60%
Featured
  • No annual fees – None!
  • Get fast pre-approval
  • Unlimited additional repayments free of charge
  • Redraw freely – Access your additional payments when you need them
  • Home loan specialists available today
Disclosure
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.

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning
 

NAB economist Ray Attrill said today's RBA meeting would be somewhat of a non-event. 

"The RBA’s last meeting of the year should pass without incident unless the post-meeting Statement chooses to offer some guidance on the likely fate of its QE bond buying programme beyond its currently scheduled June 2021 expiry (unlikely)," Mr Attrill said. 

After reducing the cash rate to 0.10% from 0.25% in November, the RBA has stated the cash rate is at its effective lower bound and can go no further. 

Very few lenders passed on the RBA's November cut to variable rates, with many instead offering sub-2% fixed rates, causing RBA Governor Phillip Lowe to urge borrowers to switch lenders if this was the case.

[See if your your lender passed on the November rate here.]

The central bank has also repeatedly affirmed it has no appetite for negative interest rates.

"Members agreed that, with the cash rate target at 10 basis points and the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances at zero, interest rates would have been lowered as far as it made sense to do so in the current environment," the RBA said in the Minutes of its November Meeting.

"They considered that there was little to be gained from short-term interest rates moving into negative territory and continued to view a negative policy rate as extraordinarily unlikely."

The RBA has also stated it will not raise the cash rate until inflation sits in its desired band of 2-3% and progress towards full employment is made. 

Australia's unemployment rate is currently at 7.0% and is expected to spike around 8% in December, with annual inflation sitting at 0.7%

Consequently, the RBA doesn't expect to raise the cash rate for at least three years. 

Since June of last year, the RBA has cut the cash rate by 135 basis points, taking it to a record low. 

With the cash rate seemingly at the end of its tether, attention may now turn to the RBA's Term Funding Facility and its quantitative easing (QE) program.

With a less protracted recovery forecast by many economists, there has been speculation the RBA will wind back its QE program.

The RBA won't meet again after today until February. 





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