Macquarie has trimmed its variable home loan rates for new customers, becoming the 28th lender to cut at least one new customer rate since 1 June.
The move takes the bank's lowest advertised rate on its basic and offset home loans down 0.05 percentage points to 6.04%, edging it below Commonwealth Bank's equivalent rate of 6.09%. As is typical with out-of-cycle cuts, the new rate applies to new customers only.
Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall said the pattern points to a genuine shift in market dynamics.
"Macquarie's new customer rate cuts confirm what we already suspected: competition in the mortgage market is ramping up," Tindall said.
The rate cuts come as NAB reported a 15% drop in new home lending applications over the three months to June, suggesting banks are moving to shore up new business.
Despite this, APRA figures show total residential mortgage books are still growing, rising $17.9 billion (0.7%) in June to a record $2.51 trillion. Macquarie posted the largest percentage increase among the big five lenders, growing 1.9% or $3.4 billion over the month, while CBA recorded the largest dollar increase at $5.0 billion.
That growth is increasingly concentrated at the top of the market. Tindall linked the competitive pressure directly to the CBA-Macquarie rivalry.
"APRA data shows competition between CBA and Macquarie in particular is fierce," she said. "CBA might have grown its loan book by the largest amount in dollar terms, at a whopping $5 billion in just one month, however, Macquarie is still knocking at its door, increasing by $3.4 billion or 1.9% in the month."
Macquarie's new rate still sits above the market's most competitive offers — 43 lenders currently advertise sub-6% rates, with the lowest sitting at 5.69% from LCU and Pacific Mortgage Group.
Tindall said borrowers shouldn't expect relief from the Reserve Bank any time soon, noting rate discounts only help those who act on them.
"This means haggling with your current bank for a rate discount or turning yourself from an existing customer into a new one by refinancing," she said.
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