No doubt, there will be a few homeowners in the City of Whittlesea that will be hoping that the Reserve Bank decides to cut official interest rates even further when it meets next week. However, what many homeowners don’t seem to have realised is that there is a real opportunity to reduce your own home loan payments without waiting for the RBA to act.

It’s worth taking a look at the Reserve Bank website when you get a chance. They publish regular updates on what interest rates people are paying on their mortgage, and it’s quite informative.

For example, the figures show that at the end of June this year, the average owner occupier with a variable rate home loan was paying 3.24%. However, the average variable interest rate being paid by NEW borrowers, (which includes people refinancing an existing loan), was just 2.92%.

If you think that’s quite a difference, the average interest rate for a new fixed rate loan of three years or less is just 2.3%! Yes, that’s more than a full 1% lower than what the average Aussie is currently paying! The key message here is that that getting a better deal on your mortgage is really not all that complicated.

For starters, you could try giving your current lender a call to inform them that you are considering taking your business elsewhere. If you’ve been keeping your loan up to date during the current lockdown, they won’t want to lose your business, so you might be surprised to find out how quickly they can respond, and how flexible they might be.

An even more effective approach is to have a chat, (even if it’s online), with an experienced, independent mortgage broker to find out what your options are. Having that conversation won’t cost you a cent, and some of the deals that the lenders are offering at the moment in order to win your business could make a serious positive impact on the family budget.

So why not achieve something positive out the next couple of weeks by saving yourself what might end up being thousands of dollars…after all, what have you got to lose?

Of course, if you are making plans for the future, the team at Barry Plant Thomastown are always happy to assist, whether you want a referral to a trusted mortgage broker, or you are simply keen to get an update on your property’s current value. Why not give us a call this week on 9466 3233, or you can contact me directly on 0418 331 741.

Cheers,

Con Constantinou

Barry Plant Thomastown