Variable Rate Home Loans
Variable rate home loans give you flexibility with the added benefit of extra features that save you money. Your variable interest rate will move up and down over time, loosely in line with the official interest rates set by the Reserve Bank. Different lenders offer different features and rates on their variable loan products, generally according to the amount you are borrowing. Your Loan Market mortgage broker will show you how to take advantage of the features of your loan to balance interest rate movements and minimise your loan costs.
Access the latest interest rates and home finance features
Access the latest interest rates and home finance features or talk to a Loan Market mortgage broker about the home loan options that are in your best interest, call us on 13 LOAN (or + 61 2 9249 3739) or email us the form on this page and we will contact you within 2 business hours.
How do variable rates work?
The Reserve Bank uses interest rates to manage people’s expenditure, and thereby inflation and the economy in general. The decision on when and if to move interest rates is based on a range of economic indicators, including the Consumer Price Index (CPI), wages data, jobless figures, the Producer Price Index (PPI) and the performance of global financial markets. Your variable rate is loosely based on the official interest rate, however in recent times we have seen that lenders are free to move their variable rates independent of official Reserve Bank movements.
Standard Variable Rate Home Loans
Standard variable rate home loans are the most popular type of loan in Australia due to the flexibility and range of features you may be able to access, which provide you with the tools to reduce the overall term and cost of your loan. They are suitable for a broad range of borrowers.
You pay for the flexibility of a standard variable rate home loan through higher interest rates than a basic variable rate home loan.
Basic Variable Rate Home Loans
Basic variable rate home loans suit first home buyers and those borrowers whose main requirement is low repayments. They have a lower interest rate than a standard variable loan – sometimes as much as 0.5% per annum - but generally fewer features and flexibility, although increasingly some of the more popular features are being treated as part of the standard loan package rather than as an ‘extra’.
Banks pass on RBA rate cut to variable rates
The big four banks moved quickly to cut variable home loan interests rates after the central bank said it would lower official rates to 7 per cent at its September 2 board meeting.
Westpac, NAB, CBA and ANZ all cut thier standard variable rates by 0.25 per cent moments after the RBA announcement.
St George announced a 0.30 per cent cuts to its standard variable rate while HSBC, Adelaide Bank and RAMS were also among those lenders who have confirmed a 0.25 per cent reductions to lending rates this afternoon.
take advantage of a variable rate home loan
To take advantage of a low basic variable rate or the flexibility of a standard variable rate, or to apply for the home loan that is in your best interest, talk to your local mortgage broker and we will return your enquiry within 2 business hours. Or call us at any time on 13 LOAN or direct on +61 2 9249 3739.
