July home loan snapshot: ANZ, NAB and Westpac push fixed rates higher

It’s been another busy month in the world of home loans with plenty of lenders adjusting interest rates up and down.

According to the latest edition of the Mozo Banking Roundup which was released this morning, the bulk of the recent action has come from changes to fixed home loan rates, as a number of lenders including members of the big four have raised rates.

For borrowers, this could be a trend worth watching in the months to come, especially those who are still wanting to lock in while rates are low.

So what’s changed and how are both fixed and variable rates stacking up? Here’s a round up of the more significant recent changes in the home loan market.

Fixed rates: Cuts, increases and everything in between

Over the past few months we’ve witnessed a steady increase in longer term fixed rates (4 and 5 years), which is a trend that’s continued to play out.

There’s also been an uptick in increases to shorter term fixed rates (1, 2 and 3 years) from some lenders in recent weeks, though other lenders have also made cuts to their short term fixed rate products. 

• ANZ hiked rates by 25bp (4-year terms) and 45bp (5-year terms), while also cutting 10bp (2 year terms) on its Fixed Rate products for owner occupiers.

• NAB increased the 2 and 3-year rates by 10bp and the 4-year rates by 5bp for owner occupiers on its fixed Tailored Home Loan products.

• Westpac raised the 2 and 3-year rates for owner occupiers by 10bp on its Fixed Options Home Loan products.

• Neobank lender 86 400 cut between 10 and 31bp off the 1, 2 and 3-year rates on its Own Home Loan (Fixed) product.

• Online lender Pacific Mortgage Group took 10-20bp off of the 1, 2 and 3-year rates available with its Fixed Home Loan product.

With those changes in mind, which lenders are offering some of the lowest fixed rates to owner occupiers at present and what are the average fixed rates in the Mozo database looking like?

Lowest and average fixed rates - Mozo database (July 1, 2021)^^

Variable rates: The cuts continue

While fixed rate movements have been all over the place, the trend with variable rate home loans has continued to be in one direction: down.

The average variable rates^^ in the Mozo database for owner occupiers (3.22%) and investors (3.63%) have both ticked down in the past month to the lowest points they’ve been at since we began tracking in 2015.

These drops were spurred on by cuts from a number of lenders in recent weeks. It’s interesting to note that these weren’t just made to rates at the 80% LVR tier though (which our averages are based on), but also to rates for borrowers with even greater deposits or existing equity. Here are some of the standouts:

• HSBC cut its Home Value Loan for owner occupiers with an LVR below 70% by 25bp to a low 2.19% (2.20% comparison rate*)

• Teachers Mutual Bank and its affiliated brands cut 70bp off their Classic Home Loan products to a new rate of 2.34% (2.38% comparison rate*) for owner occupiers with a <80% LVR

• Virgin Money reduced rates on its Reward Me Home Loan by 5 to 15bp, meaning owner occupiers can grab rates as low as 2.39% (2.56% comparison rate*) with a <60% LVR

• Online lender Yard cut 10bp off its Variable Home Loan Special. The lowest rate now available for owner occupiers is just 1.99% (2.02% comparison rate*) with a <70% LVR

In total there are now over 50 lenders in the Mozo database offering at least one home loan with a variable headline rate below 2.50% for borrowers with a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) below 80%. Here are the lowest in our database:

Lowest variable rates - Mozo database (July 1, 2021)^^

Ready to take advantage of the low interest rates currently on offer? Head on over to the Mozo home loan comparison hub to start comparing variable and fixed rate mortgages for all sorts of borrowers, or get started straight away by checking out some of the hot deals below!

^^Interest rates are based on an owner occupier making principal and interest repayments on a $400,000 loan with an 80% LVR. For more information on average mortgage rates, check out our dedicated Australian home loan statistics page.