Good news for Australian family borrowers – but there is a harvest

- ANZ cuts fixed-rate mortgage
House borrowers in Australia can now have a much lower fixed mortgage rate with ANZ’s latest cuts.
On Friday, ANZ cut its two-year fixed interest rate by 35 basis points to 5.39%, the lowest among Australia’s four largest banks.
The move comes ahead of the Reserve Bank’s May 20 meeting, with financial markets widely expected to cut tax rates next week.
Sally Tindall, director of Canstar Data Insights, said banks are trying to attract new customers before the next tax cut.
“The bank may immediately cut cash rates on May 20, while the other is to lock new customers and peg them at relatively competitive fixed rates,” she said.
Although ANZ has the lowest fixed interest rate among the four major banks, Queensland Bank has a fixed interest rate of 4.99%.
She said mortgage rates starting with the Four are psychologically a crucial threshold, which could prompt some borrowers to give up their seats on the variable rate roller coaster. ”
“However, by doing so, they will abandon the potential for further reductions within the fixed-rate deadline.”
Australian home borrowers can now get much lower fixed mortgage rates with ANZ’s latest fee cuts
The 30-day bank futures market expects the Reserve Bank to lower interest rates by another 100 basis points by the end of 2025, from now 4.1% to its first since February 2023.
For the first time since 2021, inflation’s title and basic measures have fallen below Real Madrid’s 2% to 3% target.
The 25 basis point reduction on May 20 will bring the cash rate to 3.85% for the first time since June 2023.