From the SMH blog:
While standard variable mortgage rates have not moved since August last year when the Reserve Bank cut official rates, some borrowers have been able to get a better deal by securing a discount off the headline rate.
The discounts are typically offered by banks as part of a package deal, and the biggest reductions are reserved for people who borrow the most money.
Mortgage Choice, the country’s largest independently owned mortgage broker, says discounts have hit 1.4 percentage points recently, and the trend drove more borrowers towards variable rate loans in May.
A discount of this size would take the average variable home loan interest rate to just 4.55 per cent.
‘‘We haven’t seen discounting like this since well before the GFC,’’ spokeswoman Jessica Darnbrough said. ‘‘Lenders are hungry for business and with rates sitting at historical lows, they are all being forced to out-discount each other in a bid to grow their market share.’’
So! We get are currently cutting interest rates without cutting interest rates thus preventing ourselves from cutting interest rates.
Macroprudential now.
