Current Lender Specials
Filed under: Current Mortgage Specials, First Home Buyer, Home Loans, Interest Rates
Below are current specials offered by various lenders.
Commonwealth Bank – 3 Year Rate Saver – $0 loan service fee for new borrowing
Homeloans – $0 upfront for their Premium Full Doc Loan
St George Basic Variable – Low rate at 4.99%, no up front and ongoing fees for new customers only.
Westpac – .20% discount on all fixed rates under Premier Advanatge Package. Nil upfront fee for Flexi First Option Home Loan for first home buyers.
Interest Rates Tipped to Remain On Hold
The Reserve Bank of Australia will meet this week to discuss where interest rates for June.
Economists expect interest rates to remain on hold as signs of the global economy begin to steady, however, their is a bias for rates to be reduced later in the year.
Further rate reductions will depend on the outlook of global and local economic conditions. If it begins to worsen again then the Reserve Bank may reduce rates again. For now it is a wait and see approach.
The Reserve Bank will provide its outlook for Australia this week and this may indicate a hint where they see interest rates for the remainder of the year.
First Home Buyers Grant Extended
The Australian government announced in Tuesday’s budget a six month extension to the first home owners grant boost.
Grants of $14,000 for established homes and $21,000 for new purchases will stay until September 30. From October 1 to December 31 the grant will be scaled back to $10,500 and $14,000 and return to the original amount of $7,000.
State governments have also given first home buyers a hand by either reducing the stamp duty and or adding to the grant with funds of their own. Check with your state revenue office to find out what concessions you are entitled to receive or contact us.
Rates On Hold For May
This week the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep rates on hold. Depending on global and local economic conditions they expect to make less frequent and smaller rate reductions.
Most lenders have not adjusted their variable rates but some are increasing their fixed rate loans for 3 to 10 years. Depending on the lender you are likely to find a 3 year fixed at 5.30% and a 5 year fixed at 6.00%
Lenders are also reducing their portfolio risk by decreasing the amount a person can borrow against a properties value. NAB and St George are the last to introduce the 90% maximum borrow amount, however, some banks lend up to 95% providing there is an established relationship with the bank for a minimum of 6 months.
100% home loans have disappeared from the mortgage market unless you can use other property as security for the loan.
If you need help and require a loan above 90% please feel free to contact us.
Reserve Bank Cuts Rates By 0.25%
Today the Reserve Bank of Australia cut official interest rates to 3.00%. The lowest in 50 years.
The question is will the banks also pass on the 0.25% reduction onto its customers. The banks are still citing that the cost of funding is high but no matter which way we look at it they will all follow each others lead and offer similar rates across the board.
None of the major banks can afford to discount their rates significantly more than the others as they risk being inundated with applications that they cannot service. So each lender will move cautiously to avoid stressing their systems.
I will keep you updated on which lenders pass on the 0.25% and publish them as they come in.
UPDATE: Lenders passing on the rate cut
CBA – 0.10%
NAB – Nil claim they cannot afford it
ANZ – 0.10%
More to come as they release their intentions to the market. I expect the other lenders to follow ANZ and CBA
Westpac – 0.10%
St George – 010%
Suncorp – 0.10%
ING – 0.10%