Overview of Mortgages

As in many other countries, Australia has a large selection of banks, financial institutions and "securitised lenders", each offering a wide variety of home loan products. We have links to a number of lenders under Mortgage Links.

The sheer number of mortgage products can be confusing and it is certainly time-consuming to compare them all. As a result, a great number of mortgage advisors/brokers have come into being.

Mortgage brokerage has become so accepted that over 30% of all Home loans in WA are put through the Lenders' Third Party or Broking channels. Usually this is a free service to the borrower, in that the broker's commission is paid by the lending organisation.

Please read our disclaimer statement.

Current Mortgage Rates

May 2012 - The Cash Rate Target (base rate) set by the Reserve Bank of Australia is currently 3.75%, having been reduced by 50 basis points (0.5%) on 2 May 2012. As shown in the chart below, Australian rates rose steadily from 2002 until mid 2008 as Australia's economy boomed and containing inflation became a priority.

When the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) hit in late 2008, policy was reversed and rates came down very quickly to a low of 3% in April 2009. Since then, unlike many other countries, Australia's economy has been growing, driving the inflation rate up and as a result interest rates were increased gradually to 4.75% where they sat for most of 2011. The UK, by comparison, has had a base rate of 0.5% since March 2009.

By the end of 2011, it became apparent that Australian economic growth had slowed to such an extent that interest rates needed to come down. Between Nov 2011 and May 2012 the rate has come down by one percent, sitting currently at 3.75%.

Source of data: Reserve Bank of Australia

It should be noted that retail mortgage rates are always quite a lot higher than the RBA Cash Rate. Below are some rates offered by Australian lenders in May 2012.

• Intro mortgage rate = 5.79% - 6.69%
• Standard Variable rate = 6.6% - 7.46%
• 5 year fixed rate = 6.6% - 7.29%
• Typical setup fees = $750

Mortgage Links

Banks

• Westpac
• ANZ Bank
• Commonwealth Bank
• National Australia Bank
• BankWest
• St George Bank

Non-Bank Lenders

• Aussie Home Loans
• Home Building Society
• Homeloans Ltd
• IMB Banking & Financial Services
• Keystart Home Loans (WA)
• Members Equity
• Nationwide Mortgage
• RAMS Home Loans
• Resi Mortgage Corporation
• Suncorp
• Wizard Home Loans

Other Information Websites

• Infochoice
• Reserve Bank of Australia

  These links are provided as an information source only - we have no control over content in these sites and make no recommendation about their services or products.

Disclaimer

Information on this website is intended to give the reader an overview of many aspects of life in Australia, such as healthcare, real estate, tax, superannuation etc.

While we at Aussiemove.com have performed a large amount of research on each subject area, we do not claim to be experts in those fields and we recommend that migrants discuss their requirements with companies specialising in those fields before making purchases, investments or other decisions concerning their move.

The content of this website is general in nature - no specific advice is intended.

We provide links to other companies as a service to our readers. We have taken reasonable care to ensure that each linked website does not contain offensive or inappropriate material. However, we are not responsible for the accuracy of any of the material in any linked website, or the advice that may be contained therein.