Home loan pricing continued to shift unevenly this week, according to Canstar's latest rate wrap-up, with no changes on the fixed rate side but fresh movement among variable offers.
Two lenders lifted four owner-occupier and investor variable rates by an average of 0.15%, while three lenders went the other way, cutting five variable rates by the same average margin.
The average variable rate for owner-occupiers on principal and interest now sits at 6.64%. At the pointy end of the market, Pacific Mortgage Group holds the lowest variable rate on Canstar's database at 5.69%, though the number of sub-5.75% rates on offer has slipped to two, down from three the previous week.
Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall (pictured) singled out Bank Vic, whose cut pushed its lowest rate below a closely watched threshold.
"No move on the fixed rate front this week, however, three lenders took the knife to variable — including Bank Vic which took its lowest rate under the coveted 6% mark," Tindall said.
The move also marks a wider milestone.
"It's the 50th bank to offer at least one variable rate starting with a 5 since the RBA hiked rates back in May – that's over 60% of the lenders in our database," Tindall said.
Despite subdued new lending volumes at the major banks, Tindall pointed to early signs of pressure building among existing borrowers.
"While Australia's three biggest banks have seen a retreat in new mortgage applications, CBA's full year results presented the slightest of cracks in its existing customers in the face of higher rates," she said.
CBA's results showed 85% of residential mortgage customers remain ahead on repayments, down from 87% in December last year, while offset balances fell to $94 billion from $97 billion over the same period.
Tindall said the figures were not yet cause for alarm but flagged them as an early indicator worth watching. She noted that refinancing and negotiating remain the most effective levers for borrowers at this stage, with some lenders publicly advertising cuts for new customers while others prefer to negotiate privately.
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