Variable rates have continued to prove popular with buyers as the
RBA seems set to remain on the sidelines for the near future.
The Reserve Bank chose yesterday to leave the official cash rate on hold at 2.5%, and new data from
Mortgage Choice shows the continued rate hold is seeing variable rate products grow in popularity.
"The Reserve Bank of Australia has made it clear they are happy with the current setting of monetary policy and they could leave rates on hold for some time yet. With that in mind, more borrowers are opting for a variable rate home loan, rather than lock themselves into a fixed rate," Mortgage Choice spokesperson
Jessica Darnbrough said.
Variable rate products accounted for 75.34% of all of the franchise's home loan approvals for June, up 1.21% on May. Of the various types of variable rate products, ongoing discounts were the most popular, representing nearly 37% of all loans written. Darnbrough said the products' popularity was unsurprising, given fierce interest rate competition among lenders.
"Australia's lenders are hungry for business at the moment and, as such, have been offering some sensational variable rate discounts in a bid to attract borrowers and grow their market share."
