Homebuyers or owners looking to lock in a fixed loan have been hit with a massive jump today.
One of Australia’s biggest banks has delivered a brutal blow to homebuyers with the equivalent of a triple rate hike, adding hundreds to the cost of a typical fixed mortgage repayment.
The Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s largest, jacked up its fixed rates by up to 0.70 percentage points – the same as if the Reserve Bank hiked three times in a row.
The bank’s savage repricing saw its three-year fixed rate rocket from 5.34 per cent to 6.04 per cent, leaving borrowers who locked in earlier dodging a financial bullet.
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CBA is the biggest bank in Australia and an infliencer in the industry. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.
Its one-year offering was increased by 0.45points to 5.94 per cent – a rise that’s close to double a normal Reserve Bank move – with CBA’s lowest fixed home loan now 5.79 per cent for a two-year term. Both its four and five year terms were increased by 0.30 points to 6.09 per cent and 6.24 per cent respectively.
Macquarie Bank has also joined the carnage with its second hike in six weeks, adding another 0.25 percentage points across all fixed terms.
The bloodbath in fixed rates comes as banks brace for the Reserve Bank to potentially hike the cash rate at its February meeting, with Canstar data showing a staggering 34 lenders have hiked at least one fixed rate in the last month alone.
With just one 0.25 point interest rate hike, a typical $600,000 mortgage repayment would jump by $90 a month, Canstar analysis found, while a $750,000 loan would increase by $112, and $1 million mortgages would face an extra $150 a month in costs.
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CBA put in fixed rate changes from today. Source: Canstar
Canstar.com.au data insights director Sally Tindall said borrowers who hesitated to fix their loans were now paying the price.
“CBA’s lowest fixed rates are now higher than each of its big bank competitors across all terms,” she said. “It’s a big change from last year when the bank was offering up a two-year special at 4.99 per cent. Now CBA’s lowest two-year fixed rate is a less-than-attractive 5.79 per cent.”
Ms Tindall said “while the majority of borrowers are on variable rates, anyone who was considering fixing may feel like they’ve missed the boat. The fixed rate tide is on the way out.”
Canstar Data Insights director Sally Tindall.
No of lenders with at least one fixed rate under 5%. Starting from zero, each grey horizontal line then represents 5. Source: Canstar
But she said there was “still a smattering of lenders” offering rates under 5 per cent.
“How long they’ll hold on is a different question.”
Smaller lenders with rates in the fours include Pacific Mortgage Group and Geelong Bank with one-year fixed rates from 4.99 per cent, while a few credit unions offer two-year terms from 4.94 per cent.
“The list of lenders offering fixed rates starting with a ‘4’ could be down to single digits by the time the next RBA meeting comes around,” Ms Tindall said.
NAB now has the cheapest fixed rates among the big four, offering 5.39 per cent for both one-year and two-year terms – a whopping 0.55 percentage points cheaper than CBA’s one-year rate.
The RBA board will announce its interest rate decision on February 3.