Your interest rate update: January 2024
On 05 December the official cash rate was held at:
4.35%
The lowest owner-occupier loan in Finder’s database is:
5.97%
Assuming the average owner occupier home loan size of $610,286 you would be making monthly repayments of:
$3,581
Australians pessimistic about homeownership
The average loan amount for a first home buyer reached a record high in October 2023, increasing by 4.1% from the same month the year before. First home buyers borrowed an average loan of $507,488, reflecting how high property prices are affecting those wanting to get onto the property ladder.
It’s understandable then that Australians are feeling pessimistic about the prospect of owning a home. According to Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker (CST) in December, Australians expect it will take them 8 years to own a home. At the start of 2021, the expectation was a more positive 5.5 years.
A year and a half of rising interest rates can’t have helped the situation, either.
Luckily, economists are predicting that rates may begin to fall towards the end of this year: Commonwealth Bank’s economists are predicting as early as September.
Graham Cooke heads up Finder's insights team, which is responsible for conducting data-driven research. He also regularly appears on TV and radio, taking part in more than 500 interviews to discuss financial news and trends.
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Josh Bartlett, mortgage broker and managing director, 
I have a current mortgage with Bendigo Bank on fixed interest rate of 2.090% which expires in July.
I want to know my options when it expires.
Small mortgage which is due to be paid off in 2029.
None of your options seem to include this issue.
Can I speak with someone?
Hi Susan,
You have a couple of options. You could:
– Stick with Bendigo Bank and either roll over onto a variable rate loan option in July, or choose another fixed rate home loan.
– Refinance to a different bank, and choose either a fixed or variable rate.
Your eligibility to refinance depends on a number of things, including your age, income and loan amount. As a first step, it might be worth contacting your bank so they can let you know what their current rates and offers are, so you have an idea of what your repayments will be from July onwards. You can then compare this to other options in the mortgage market to see if you can get a better deal elsewhere.
Hope this helps!
Useless tool – no way to select weekly payments.
Hi Chris,
We appreciate your feedback.
Our tables contain quite a bit of information in them. In the interests of brevity, we currently allow you to compare home loans by monthly payments. If you’d like to know the estimated weekly payments, you can divide these estimates by 4.3. For instance, if the monthly estimate was $3,000, once you divide it by 4.3, the weekly amount would be $697.67.
Hope this helps, and thanks again for the feedback – we’ll explore whether this functionality can be added.
Many thanks
Sarah
I’d like speak to someone about refinancing a please?
Hi Michael,
If you already have a preferred lender, you can visit their website to submit an application and/or request to speak with their home finance representative.
Alternatively, you can speak with a professional mortgage broker to get personalised advice. You can call one of the mortgage brokers found on our page to schedule an appointment or search for a mortgage broker in your area on Google.
I hope this helps!
Richard
I am an Australian citizen returning to Australia after several years abroad. I will be entering into employment with the Australian branch of my existing employer with a new employment contract (but without a probation period). Can you advise limits to home loan borrowing upon arrival. e.g. is their a qualifying period for work/residence in Australia for lenders?
Hi JDM,
Thanks for your question!
All Australian citizens are eligible to apply for a home loan. This is one of the basic requirements. Others include age, income, and other unique requirements of the lender.
As a friendly reminder, carefully review the eligibility criteria of the loan before applying to increase your chances of approval. Read up on the terms and conditions and product disclosure statement and contact the bank should you need any clarifications about the policy.
A mortgage broker is the best person to reach out to see your options for home loans. They can give you a multitude of options according to your situation. In the meantime, to give you an estimate of your monthly repayments, you can use our home loan eligibility calculator.
Hope this helped. Feel free to reach back out for further assistance.
Cheers,
Nikki
What are the options for Self employed with one year financials?
Hello Mani,
Thank you for your comment.
If you’re self-employed and is interested in a home loan, you can check low documentation (low-doc) loan which is designed to cater to applicants who are working for themselves. Please note that different lenders have different application requirements, so it’s best to check your eligibility and ensure meeting the requirements before submitting an application.
You may check our low doc home loan guide and see the tips on how to compare such loans. After comparing the products in our panel, you can click the “Go to site” button or the “Enquire now” button and discuss with the lender your eligibility.
It’ll be best to seek advise from a mortgage broker and discuss options based on your needs.
Should you wish to have real-time answers to your questions, try our chatbox on the lower right corner of our page.
Regards,
Jhezelyn