Home loan rates have continued to record minimal movements in interest rates for this week, according to this week’s home loan rate movements report by Canstar’s rating manager, Josh Sale (pictured).
According to Sale, Regional Australia bank increased two owner-occupier and investor variable rates by an average of 0.40%. Meanwhile, three lenders have increased 56 owner-occupier and investor fixed rates by 0.19% on average.
At the other end of the spectrum, two lenders have cut five owner-occupier and investor variable rates by 0.05% on average while two lenders cut 20 owner-occupier and fixed rates by 0.10% on average.
“This week saw minimal activity in rate changes from lenders, reflecting the ongoing subdued market conditions. The RBA's latest Monetary Policy Statement, released after their meeting last week, reaffirmed the challenges in bringing inflation back to the target range,” said Sale.
“Despite holding the cash rate steady, the RBA highlighted the persistence of inflation, with trimmed mean inflation still at 3.9%. The expectation is that this will only return to the target by late 2025, suggesting a continuation of restrictive monetary policy,” he added.
The report found that Arab Bank Australia had the lowest variable rate for any LVR at 5.75%. About 17 rates were below 5.75% according to Canstar’s database, which had continued what was recorded in the last few weeks.
Lenders that had rates that were below 5.75% were Australian Mutual Bank, Bank Australia, Community First Bank, Horizon Bank, LCU, RACQ Bank, The Capricornian, The Mac, and the unity bank.
“This market turbulence has significantly shifted expectations around interest rates, with markets now pricing in potential rate cuts much sooner than anticipated just a fortnight ago. As the economic landscape continues to evolve, these shifting expectations will likely influence future market movements and central bank decisions here and abroad,” said Sale.
