Canstar has reported on the various movements in home loan rates among Australian lenders for the week of May 6 to 13.
Great Southern Bank raised two owner-occupier and investor variable rates by an average of 0.05%. Across the industry, no variable rate reductions were reported.
In terms of fixed rates, nine lenders increased a significant 183 owner-occupier and investor fixed rates by an average of 0.40%. Conversely, four lenders cut 64 owner-occupier and investor fixed rates by an average of 0.23%.
See the summary of rate adjustments in the table below.
The average variable interest rate for owner-occupiers paying principal and interest currently stands at 6.88%.
The lowest variable rate available is 5.74%, offered by Regional Australia Bank as a three-year introductory loan.
Notably, there are now 22 rates below 5.75% on Canstar’s database, a slight decrease from 24 the previous week. These rates are available at Australian Mutual Bank, Bank Australia, Horizon Bank, LCU, People’s Choice, Police Credit Union, RACQ Bank, Regional Australia Bank, The Mac and Unity Bank.
See table below for the lowest variable rates on the Canstar database.
Josh Sale, Canstar’s group manager for research, ratings, and product data, provided insights into the recent trends.
“While analysing the fixed rates on offer from lenders is an imperfect science, the trend towards rate increases over the past week suggests a market sentiment leaning towards higher rates for an extended period,” Sale said. “This is not surprising, given the increasingly hawkish undertones in recent statements from the Reserve Bank.”
Sale also highlighted anticipation surrounding the upcoming federal budget.
“This week, the focus shifts from Martin Place to Parliament Drive with the upcoming federal budget release,” he said. “Preliminary information suggests that the Treasury’s inflation forecasts are more optimistic than the Reserve Bank’s, purportedly due to the expected impacts of their forthcoming budget measures.”
The Canstar expert said lenders’ responses to the upcoming budget details will be crucial, potentially indicating whether they lean towards the Treasury’s optimism or the Reserve Bank’s caution.
“As we await the details, one question looms: Will the doves fly, or will a flock of inflation hawks pick apart the budget?” Sale said.
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