Explainer: How RBA rate changes affect your interest rate

With the RBA setting the official cash rate at all-time lows, it’s a good time to work out how this impacts the interest rate on your home loan and whether you are getting a good deal or not.

When the interest rate on your home loan fluctuates, it can feel as though you don’t have control of your debt. Despite being frustrating, interest rate changes are a part of every loan’s lifespan and warrant your consideration.

The interest rates that banks charge on their home loans are influenced by the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) cash rate.

The cash rate is reviewed by the RBA on a monthly basis in order to safeguard Australia’s economic stability. The cash rate is the rate charged on loans made between the RBA and your lender. This, in turn, has a very strong impact on the interest rates your lender charges you.

The RBA supports the banks with liquidity facility. Put simply…The RBA is a bank to the banks. The cash rate is effectively the rate at which the RBA will lend to the banks, and what the banks effectively use as a reference rate for other things.

When the cash rate is changed by the RBA, lenders decide whether or not to mirror the new rate in the interest they charge their mortgagees. This is entirely up to the lender in question and depends on the market and how the lender is performing at the time of the cash rate change.

If you look at the mortgage market, specifically by itself, it is very competitive. It is about the lender trying to get the right outcome on the deposit side of the balance sheet within the context of a very, very competitive marketplace, but recognising that a reference rate has changed and, therefore, looking at where they stand.

Some lenders choose to shift their interest rate changes higher than the RBA’s cash rate change and, in these instances, other lenders may be offering lower interest rates than the one you currently have.

Keeping track of how your lender manages cash rate changes and where that leaves you as the person paying the interest can be time consuming, and is made more difficult by fees, charges and the flexibility offered by different loan products, which all need to be weighed alongside the interest rate.

This is where a MFAA Accredited Finance Broker can be a great help. The finance brokers are familiar with the different lenders and their responses to cash rate changes and can track interest rate fluctuations across a panel of lenders to ensure you’re getting a great deal.

RBA CASH RATE UNCHANGED

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has decided to keep the cash rate at 1.5 per cent for the 25th consecutive month of RBA announcements

MORE TIGHTENING TO INTEREST ONLY LOAN

Earlier this year, the regulator announced new curbs to interest-only lending. Regulator’s focus on tightening of credit regulations on interest-only loans is a welcome change as it has encouraged more responsible lending by banks and other institutions to not place customers under undue stress and thus end up paying more on their home loans, particularly if their loan is an owner-occupied loan.

HOW TO NEGOTIATE IN A SOFTER HOUSING MARKET

Whatever the state of the market, every negotiation is based on the same premise – vendors want to receive the highest possible price while buyers want to pay as little as possible. Both, however, need to give careful thought to how they approach a negotiation when the market is in decline.

TIPS FOR VENDOR’S :

Be realistic ,Take offers seriously AND Be ready to act.

TIPS FOR BUYER’S :

Do your research – be clear about a realistic market price.

Let the agent know if you’re interested in a property

Call now on 1300 30 6767 or enquire through the form.