BANKS will budge on their home loan rates if savvy customers demand an on-the-spot deal, new findings have revealed.
Simply haggling has resulted in instant reductions to loan rates of up to 82 basis points or the equivalent of more than three rate cuts.
A mystery shop completed by financial comparison website Mozo’s property expert Steve Jovcevski found when he contacted the big four banks, posing as a first-home buyer, investor and refinancer, on every single occasion he received discounts on their advertised rates.
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This resulted in savings of tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan — including for a first-home buyer discounts of up to 72 basis points — which led to savings of $45,000 over the life of a $300,000 30-year loan.
Mortgage Choice chief executive officer John Flavell said interest rate offers continued to fluctuate and in the last few weeks multiple lenders had reduced their deals.
“Australia’s lenders are actively and aggressively competing for business at the moment,’’ he said.
“If borrowers want to successfully haggle with their lender, they need to ensure they have done their research and know what their options are.
“Speak to your broker or go online and see if there is a better, more competitive product available on the market.”
The Reserve Bank of Australia kept the cash rate on hold at 1.5 per cent this month — where it has sat since August last year — and it’s expected there will be no further moves until next year.
Tightening of lending rules has put pressure on banks to be tougher on who they will dish out loans to but competition for business still remains fierce.
Mozo’s Steve Jovcevski urges all borrowers to review their interest rates as there are many hot deals under the four per cent mark available.
“I didn’t have to push that hard to get these types of discounts, they were surprisingly quick to over this type of discount,’’ he said.
“Make sure you know what the competitors are giving and if it is a big bank, they often like to compete against other big banks more so than smaller lenders.”
