Rates have been reduced as we all know and it looks like the majority of lenders so far are jumping on board with the full rate cut!! This of course applies to variable rates and NOT fixed rates as a lot of people believe. However, having said this there are FANTASTIC fixed rates available at the moment. The big 4 banks have got some catching up when comparing to the “smaller” lenders out there.
Westpac , Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are passing on the full value of the Reserve Bank’s official interest rate cut announced 7th May 2013.
The ANZ Bank – went that one bit better by dropping their interest rate by 0.27 per cent.
St George along with Bank of Queensland has also announced a quarter of a percentage point cut to its standard variable rates.
Now that the three banks have announced they will cut their standard variable home loan rates by 0.25 per cent in line with the Reserve Bank Of Australia earlier decision to cut the official cash rate by 0.25 percentage points, making rates now as low as 2.75 per cent! In Fact, the rates haven’t been this low since April 1956 back when Elvis had his first hit single “Heartbreak Hotel” !
It’s a nice change considering that in recent years the big four Bank’s haven’t always passed on the full value of the Reserve Bank rate cut. The banks have continuously cited increased funding costs as a defence for passing on only a fraction of any cut in official rates.
With the inflation rate steady and the Australian dollar remaining strong, there was scope to ease interest rates further.
“At today’s meeting the board decided to use some of that scope. It judged that a further decline in the cash rate was appropriate to encourage sustainable growth in the economy, consistent with achieving the inflation target.”
The move had an immediate impact on the Australian dollar which lost a quarter of a cent against the greenback, taking it below the $US1.02 mark.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you want further information on rates and whether you’re still on the best loan and rate for you! Now is the time to ensure you are getting the best deal!! 🙂
If the cut is passed on in full, approximate saving apply:
LOAN AMOUNT SAVINGS PER MONTH
$100,000 $15.50
$200,000 $31.00
$250,000 $38.00
$300,000 $46.00
$350,000 $54.00
$400,000 $62.00
$450,000 $69.00
$500,000 $77.00