Home loan rate changes have been few and far between in recent weeks, with the official cash rate holding steady for six consecutive RBA monetary policy meetings.

Despite green shoots emerging in wages and the labour force, the RBA, as its Board consistently stated, won't be rushing to drop the axe on the benchmark rate given the inflation's slow return to target.

"We're trying to bring demand back into balance with supply and get the inflation rate back into the target band of between 2% and 3%," RBA Governor Michele Bullock said.

"But the fact is that the progress on bringing inflation down has been very slow for a year now, and while the growth of demand has been slow, there's actually no guarantee that supply and demand will return to balance quickly enough."

The RBA now doesn't forecast inflation to hit the midpoint of its 2-3% target band until 2027, meaning the populous would have put up with five years of higher-than-acceptable inflation. 

Diverging data and the looming upside risks have underscored the ongoing uncertainty surrounding future rate shifts.

Without it coming from the horse's mouth, we can only assume that may be the reason why Australia's mortgage lenders, despite the cash rate holding steady, have been adjusting rates in different directions.

Just take a look at last week's wrap to confirm.

But then of course, the strategy could very well be to entice borrowers, especially when rates are trending downwards - just like what these two lenders have done.

Macquarie Bank slashes fixed rate home loans

Macquarie Bank delivered a surprise this week, dropping the rates on its range of fixed-rate mortgages by up to 76 basis points.

Australia's fifth-largest lender is taking on its Big Four rivals in the fixed home lending space, with rates for owner occupiers as low as 5.79% p.a. (comparison rates vary between 6.01% p.a.* and 6.14% p.a.*).

Save for the one-year fixed term, residential loans with an offset account also feature the same advertised rate, although comparison rates are higher (between 6.24% p.a.* and 6.32% p.a.*).

The aforementioned rates are available for basic home loans on one- to five-year terms with a 70% loan-to-value ratio (LVR).

The offset accounts are unavailable while the home loan is within its fixed interest period, however.

Meanwhile, investors looking to fix their mortgages for two, three, four, or five years can lock in 5.99% p.a. (comparison rates vary between 6.21% p.a.* and 6.30% p.a.*) offered by Macquarie.

These rates are also available for investment home loans with 70% LVR.

Here are some of the noteworthy rates for residents available through Basic Fixed Owner Occupied mortgages with 80% LVR, and paying both principal and interest (P&I):

Here are the new rates for Basic Fixed Investment, 80% LVR paying P&I:

MOVE Bank drops fixed and variable home loan rates

Mutual bank MOVE also slashed the rates across its range of fixed and variable home loans.

Carrying the bank's lowest fixed rate for owner-occupied mortgages is the Everyday Home Loan, fixed for three years at 5.84% p.a. (6.00% p.a. comparison rate*).

Investors fixing their loans can lock in 5.84% p.a. (6.10% p.a. comparison rate*) for three years.

Not keen to fix? Owner-occupiers betting on interest rate cuts might consider these variable home loans whose rates were cut by 10 basis points.

Read more: Home loan rate changes

Bernadette Lunas

Finance Journalist

Bernadette is a journalist with years of experience covering topics in macroeconomics, real estate, and lifestyle beats for notable print media organisations. She joined the InfoChoice Group in 2024, bringing her passion for writing stories that help Australians make better decisions about money.

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