Lenders make out of cycle rate cuts ahead of RBA announcement
According to home loans database Mozo.com.au, 20 lenders have cut their interest rates since the start of 2014.
Despite predictions that the RBA will leave rates on hold, lenders including NAB and Westpac have cut their rates in the past month, perhaps signalling a new level of competition in the lending market for 2014.
Out-of-cycle rate movements have been confirmed by loan comparison website Ratecity.com.au, which noted a number of rate hikes by lenders late last year. Ratecity.com.au chief executive Alex Parsons said that since October 2013, 73 variable home loan rates have increased by as much as 0.52 percentage points, with 550 fixed rates increasing in that time.
Parsons agrees that rate cuts early this year signal aggressive competition. “Home loan lenders are competing aggressively for business and rates are at historical lows,” he said.
“Five smaller lenders have dropped some of their variable home loan rates in the past month, and 66 variable rates have been lowered since October,” said Parsons.