Proof that Australian home buyers are finally seeing through the major banks’ grab for cash was revealed today with a leading internet based home loan lender recording a 300 percent increase in daily inquiry volumes in just one week.
It was the same week that Australia’s big banks hit consumers with higher interest rates, independent of any official rise by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Online home loan lenders do not have expensive overheads and can easily undercut the major Australian banks. The gap in the interest rate on a standard variable home loan between some major banks and internet-based lenders is now pushing well over one percent, which is nearly five rate rises. Consumers are now realising online-only home loans offer a better deal, which is evident in the rise in loan enquiries off an already substantial base in the last week alone.
Australians who are hesitant to refinance can look towards a recent Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia report for solace. The report showed 80 percent of borrowers who switched their home loan were better off.
