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- Where can you find rate relief? Some of the top-rated home loans in May 2024
Where can you find rate relief? Some of the top-rated home loans in May 2024
Key highlights
With the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) keeping the cash rate on hold in May 2024, and economists from some big banks pushing back their rate cut forecasts, Australians wanting cost of living relief may need to give themselves a rate cut. Comparing home loans options before your switch can give you a better idea of which options may be best for your financial situations and personal goals.
Given ‘sticky’ inflation figures and other economic factors, economists from major Australian banks have revised their cash rate forecasts, pushing back the date of possible rate cuts until November 2024. However,some other commentators are predicting that the RBA’s next move could actually be to raise the cash rate to help counter inflation.
Australians looking for a new home loan, or to switch their current home loan, could benefit from RateCity’s Real Time Ratings™ when making their mortgage comparisons. These star ratings are regularly updated based on the cost and flexibility of each home loan deal to give you a better idea of its overall value at a glance. The top-rated home loans in different categories are collected on RateCity’s Home Loan Leaderboards, with some of the top-rated options becoming eligible for RateCity Gold Awards.
Some of the top-rated refinance home loans
While many Australian mortgage holders are hoping for cash rate cuts from the RBA to help ease their cost of living, it’s not guaranteed that these cuts will arrive any time soon, or even if banks will pass on these cuts in a timely manner. Also, banks and mortgage lenders could choose to raise their variable home loan interest rates out of cycle from the RBA.
Homeowners looking for a rate cut could ask their bank for a discount, or refinance with another lender. Recent stats from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that refinancing activity recently dropped by 2.5%, indicating that many of the borrowers in a position to refinance their home loans have already done so. But there are still plenty of borrowers jumping ship – around $16.02 billion worth in March 2024 – so it’s important to compare mortgage options before making any switch.
Some of the top-rated fixed home loans
Data from the ABS shows that borrowers opting for a fixed rate hit a new record low of just 1.40% in March. Just $664 million worth of loans opted for a fixed rate out of the $47.5 billion worth of new and refinanced loans approved in the month of March. Compare this to July 2022 when fixed rate popularity peaked, with 46% of all new and refinanced loans opting for a fixed rate.
Some of the lowest home loan interest rates currently available on the market are fixed rate deals. However, it’s important to keep in mind that locking yourself into one of these deals could mean missing out on the benefits of potential future rate cuts in 2025 and beyond.
Some of the top-rated investor home loans
The ABS data also found that compared to the same time a year ago, investor lending has risen by 31.1%, compared to the 11.4% rise in owner-occupier lending. This rise was partially credited to rising property prices.
Compare home loans in Australia
Product database updated 24 Nov, 2024
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