It's smaller lenders who are positioning themselves ahead of Tuesday's widely expected drop in the RBA cash rate.
Analysts are predicting a 25-basis point cut in the official rate as fears simmer of a US recession, a possible fallout from its ever-changing tariff regime.
On the domestic front, Australia's underlying inflation rate of 2.9% in the 12 months to March has also fallen within the RBA's much-touted target band of 2-3%.
It's no surprise lenders have been dropping fixed rates like hot potatoes in recent months, doing their best to lure homebuyers into locking in long-term rates before the string of predicted rate drops in 2025.
But at the last official count, less than 2% of new borrowers were taking the bait, preferring instead to ride the variable rate rollercoaster with February's cut to the cash rate signalling the downward run has begun.
With that in mind, let's check all this week's rate movements.
Auswide launches 2-year fixed special
Auswide kicked off the week, adding a special offer to its Freedom Package residential and investment fixed rate schedule for new borrowers fixing for two years.
The special offer rates are up to 1.4% p.a. less than the standard two-year fixed rates, with a lowest rate of 5.24% p.a. (6.24% p.a. comparison rate*) for owner occupiers (OO) with a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of 60% or less making principal and interest (P&I) repayments.
Here are the new special offer rates for Freedom Package fixed rate loans with '% change' denoting the drop from the standard two-year rates:
| Product | % change | New rate | Comparison rate* |
| OO P&I ≤60% LVR | -0.5 | 5.24% p.a. | 6.24% p.a. |
| 60-70% LVR | -0.5 | 5.24% p.a. | 6.28% p.a. |
| 70-80% LVR | -0.5 | 5.25% p.a. | 6.31% p.a. |
| OO IO ≤60% LVR | -1.2 | 5.54% p.a. | 6.29% p.a. |
| 60-70% LVR | -1.2 | 5.54% p.a. | 6.33% p.a. |
| 70-80% LVR | -1.4 | 5.54% p.a. | 6.37% p.a. |
| Investor P&I ≤60% LVR | -0.65 | 5.54% p.a. | 6.53% p.a. |
| 60-70% LVR | -0.65 | 5.54% p.a. | 6.57% p.a. |
| 70-80% LVR | -0.85 | 5.54% p.a. | 6.61% p.a. |
| Investor IO ≤60% LVR | -0.65 | 5.54% p.a. | 6.53% p.a. |
| 60-70% LVR | -0.65 | 5.54% p.a. | 6.57% p.a. |
| 70-80% LVR | -0.85 | 5.54% p.a. | 6.61% p.a. |
Auswide's Freedom Package loans come with a $395 annual fee with the special offer deal subject to withdrawal at any time.
It is not available to those with LVRs over 80%.
Summerland launches special offer
Not to be left behind, the northern New South Wales-based Summerland Bank has trimmed 10 basis points off its standard fixed rate home loans for both owner occupiers and investors with 60% LVR or less.
The new Special Offer rate is 5.24% p.a. (6.41% p.a. comparison rate*) for owner occupiers and 5.34% p.a. (6.94% p.a. comparison rate*) for investors.
The offer is available to those making P&I repayments only.
G&C/Unity Bank cut fixed rates by 25 bp
The merged G&C Mutual and Unity Banks also dropped their fixed rates on residential and investment loans, with their new lowest rate 5.30% p.a. (5.38% p.a. comparison rate*) for owner occupiers making P&I repayments and fixing for two years, a 20 basis point drop.
Here's a look at the new fixed rates for owner occupiers making P&I repayments:
| Product | % change | New rate | Comparison rate* |
| 1 year | -0.25 | 5.60% p.a. | 5.68% p.a. |
| 2 years | -0.20 | 5.30% p.a. | 5.38% p.a. |
| 3 years | -0.25 | 5.45% p.a. | 5.53% p.a. |
| 4 years | -0.15 | 5.80% p.a. | 5.88% p.a. |
| 5 years | -0.15 | 5.80% p.a. | 5.88% p.a. |
Interest only rates for owner occupiers remain at 6.00% p.a. or more for all terms.
BankVic raises variable rate
The member-owned bank marked itself as an outlier, raising its special offer variable rate loans by five basis points, as follows:
| Product | % change | New rate | Comparison rate* |
| Variable Special | +0.05 | 5.79% p.a. | 5.79% p.a. |
| Police Variable Special P&I | +0.05 | 5.73% p.a. | 5.73% p.a. |
The rates apply to new BankVic loans up to 95% LVR, with lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) waivers available to eligible borrowers with LVRs below 90% and come with a redraw facility.
The special Police rate is available to police only.
BankVic is currently offering $3,000 cashback to eligible new borrowers and $4,000 to eligible police, but conditions apply.
See also: Latest home loan offers and deals
Home lending down so far in 2025
In other home loan news this week, new data shows the value of new loan approvals (excluding refinancing) dropped 1.6% in the first quarter of 2025.
It marks the first quarterly decline in home loans by value in two years.
Home loan approvals have been flat for the past two quarters, after a 14.6% surge in the second and third quarters of 2024.
The total number of new home loans fell 3.5% for the quarter, led by a decline in owner-occupier loans.
This slowed annual growth to 6% over the past 12 months - a considerable drop from a peak of 24.6% in the third quarter of last year.
The figures covered the first three months of the year, featuring February's first cut to the cash rate in more than four years.
Westpac analyst Matthew Hassan said although this generated some positive response, particularly in the softer Sydney and Melbourne markets, turnover has been soft.
He said the overall picture is of a housing upturn that has lost much of its momentum and a sector that may continue to lack direction in the near term.
The new data could also signal many homebuyers are waiting to see the extent of the forecast run of cash rate cuts before jumping into the market.
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5.79% p.a. | 5.83% p.a. | $2,931 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $530 | 90% |
| Promoted | Disclosure | ||||||||||
5.49% p.a. | 5.40% p.a. | $2,836 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 80% |
| Promoted | Disclosure | ||||||||||
5.64% p.a. | 5.89% p.a. | $2,883 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $250 | $250 | 60% |
| Promoted | Disclosure | ||||||||||
5.64% p.a. | 5.89% p.a. | $2,883 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $248 | $350 | 60% |
| Disclosure |
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