Mortgage brokers across Australia are facing a tougher market as rising mortgage rates and diverging capital city conditions reshape price forecasts and force a rethink on advice to first-home buyers and property investors.
Over the week, more lenders nudged home loan pricing higher, with variable and fixed mortgage rates both moving up. Across owner-occupier and investor loans, variable rates rose by an average of 0.23%, while fixed rates climbed by around 0.26%, Canstar reported.
“The March RBA hikes have now flowed through to lenders’ variable rate mortgages, leaving LCU with the lowest rate in the database at 5.44%,” Canstar insights director Sally Tindall (pictured) said.
Tindall noted that Pacific Mortgage Group has managed to hold a sub‑5.5% rate for new borrowers with sizeable deposits.
Turning to fixed mortgage rates, Tindall said, “In the fixed rate arena, the big banks have well and truly abandoned rates under 6%, however, a handful of smaller lenders are still hanging on.”
The sharpest fixed deal on Canstar’s database is 5.49% from Northern Inland Credit Union, although Tindall warned this offer “has a target on its back.”
Tindall said, “The war in the Middle East is already taking its toll on the Australian property market, with ANZ now predicting prices will fall in Sydney and Melbourne through to the end of this year by 0.7% and 1.7% respectively.”
In contrast, ANZ expects Brisbane and Perth to continue posting solid gains, with tight stock levels helping to support prices despite higher mortgage rates.
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