Macquarie Bank First To Pass On New Rates
With the big four banks likely to follow, now could be an opportunity for refinancing.
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With the Reserve Bank announcing a fourth rate rise in four months, and the third consecutive 0.5% rise, many borrowers are readying for repayment pain.
The official interest rate is now at its highest level in six years — 1.85% — up from 0.1% at the start of May.
Following yesterday’s announcement, Macquarie Bank was the first to move on interest rates, handing on the full half a percentage point rise to its standard variable home loan customers.
Further, Macquarie also continued to increase rates by the full amount for savers too in transaction accounts with balances up to $250,000.
The big four banks are yet to announce any changes however are expected to pass on the new rates to borrowers, adding $1000 a month to repayments on a $1 million mortgage from May according to Canstar.
Fixed rates too are rising noticeably.
According to new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, the proportion of new home loans with fixed rates is down to 9% from a July 2021 peak of 46%.
Macquarie is seemingly trying to combat the low uptake of fixed loans by decreasing its fixed-home-loan interest rates by up to 0.75 per cent for new customers and existing variable-rate customers who want to fix their interest rate, from 5 August.
The shifting markets could indicate an opportunity for refinancing, as discounts are being offered for lower-risk borrowers.
Research from financial comparison website Canstar indicates on in two lenders are offering loans with a lower rate to borrowers with a 40% deposit or the equivalent equity in their property.
On Canstar’s platform, 49% of lenders are offering an interest rate that on average sits 0.21% lower than the rate being paid by borrowers with a deposit half that size.
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Australian auction sales warm up week on week as temperatures cool
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In signs that confidence is returning to the Australian property market, the combined capitals recorded their highest preliminary clearance rates since April last year, CoreLogic reports.
More than 2,290 homes went to market across capital cities last weekend with early data revealing a 71 percent clearance rate. This compares with a revised clearance rate of 64.2 percent last week. It marks the second busiest auction week to date this year.
Melbourne led the way, with 1,122 homes taken to auction. Of the 916 results collected so far, 73.5 percent were successful. It was a similar story in Sydney, with 791 homes to go under the hammer. Preliminary results indicate a clearance rate of 71.5 percent.
The smaller capitals including Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra all experienced higher clearance rates week on week, with Adelaide out in front at 78.6 percent. It was a less spectacular result in Canberra, with a 59 percent clearance rate and in Brisbane at 56 percent.
In Perth, just three of the 13 auctions tallied so far were successful.
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