What's the interest rate in Australia?
As things stand, Australia's current cash rate is 4.35%.
On the 6th of February the RBA left the official cash rate unchanged. The current official cash rate as determined by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is 4.35%. The next RBA Board meeting and Official Cash Rate announcement will be on the 19th March 2024.
So how much did interest rates go up by in 2023? The total rate increase for 2023 was 1.25% per annum, with the RBA deciding to increase the cash rate by 0.25% per annum in February, March, May, June and November (no changes announced in January, April, July, August, September, October and December).
Last Value | 1.58% |
---|---|
Last Updated | Jan 5 2024, 14:47 EST |
Next Release | Mar 5 2024, 10:00 EST (E) |
Long Term Average | 4.81% |
Average Growth Rate | 29.21% |
The advertised rate for home loans hit 17 per cent in June 1989 and stayed there until March 1990, according to Reserve Bank records. It's also true they were in the double digits for most of the 1980s.
This Week | Month Ago | |
---|---|---|
Fed Funds Rate (Current target rate 5.25-5.50) | 5.5 | 5.5 |
- Savings Maximiser (ING) – 5.50%. On balances up to $100,000. ...
- Future Saver Account (Bank of Queensland) – 5.40%. On balances up to $50,000.
- Saver Account (AMP) – 5.40%. On balances up to $250,000.
- ANZ.
- CBA.
- NAB.
- Westpac.
- Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
NAB: Late 2024
NAB economists predict that the current level of 4.35% will be the cash rate's peak, and they also predict that the first cut is likely to occur in the December quarter of 2024, with rates lowering to 4.10%. They anticipate that the cash rate may reduce to 3.10% by the end of 2025.
The single biggest cause of inflation is when the demand for goods and services outstrips supply. This results in businesses increasing their costs, because they know that only a small number of customers will go elsewhere.
The Commonwealth Bank forecasts rates could fall to 2.85 per cent in June 2025. Westpac forecasts they will drop to 3.10 per cent in September next year, while NAB believes they will fall to 3.10 per cent in December 2025. Ten of Finder's panel of 27 experts predicted the first cut to be in 2025.
Are mortgage rates high in Australia?
Mortgage Rate in Australia remained unchanged at 6.80 percent in January. Mortgage Rate in Australia averaged 6.86 Percent from 1990 until 2024, reaching an all time high of 15.50 Percent in September of 1990 and a record low of 2.14 Percent in March of 2021. source: Reserve Bank of Australia.
Australia interest rate history
Interest rates have increased regularly since May 2022, going up 13 times in 15 months. Before that, the cash rate was less than 1.00 per cent since July 2019.
The average mortgage size for owner-occupiers in Australia was $624k in December 2023. Average mortgage size varies wildly by state. The average home loan deposit size required to buy is now six figures.
On the other hand, all interest rates rose, so the cost of borrowing money increased, too. Interest rates reached their highest point in modern history in October 1981 when they peaked at 18.63%, according to the Freddie Mac data.
What's the Highest Mortgage Rate in History? From 1971 to present, the highest average mortgage rate ever recorded was 18.63% in October 1981.
China Loan Prime Rate is at 3.45%, compared to 3.45% last month and 3.65% last year. This is lower than the long term average of 3.78%. The China Loan Prime Rate (LPR) is the lending rate provided by commercial banks to their highest quality customers, and serves as the benchmark for rates provided for other loans.
Currently, investors generally believe that we won't see the Fed cut rates until June at the earliest, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. And depending on how inflation continues to trend, we may need to wait even longer. This means we might not see mortgage rates fall substantially until the second half of 2024.
Mortgage rates are going to stay above 6% through 2025, according to estimates from Goldman Sachs. Goldman said the decline in mortgage rates should offer marginal improvements in housing affordability. The average 30-year mortgage rate fell to 6.62% last week after hitting a cycle-high of 7.8%.
No financial institutions currently offer 7% interest savings accounts. But some smaller banks and regional credit unions are currently paying more than 6.00% APY on savings accounts and up to 9.00% APY on checking accounts, though these accounts have restrictions and requirements.
The average Aussie has $40,617 in their savings account, according to new data from Finder. That's up from $29,856 in March this year and a record high since the comparison site began tracking the data in 2019.
What is the best term deposit in Australia?
Interest rate (p.a.) | Interest paid | |
---|---|---|
Firstmac (180 days) | 5.00% | At maturity |
AMP Bank | 4.95% | At maturity (reduced rates apply for monthly payment) |
ING | 4.95% | At maturity |
Move Bank | 4.50% | At maturity |
Experts predict interest rate drop in coming year
The Commonwealth Bank is predicting a huge fall in interest rates next year and again in 2025. The major bank believes the cash rate will be lowered by 0.75 per cent by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) over 12 months, starting in September 2024.
Variable home loans will come down and monthly mortgage repayments will ease, which could make servicing a mortgage easier for many Australians. Westpac and CommBank both forecast the RBA will start lowering interest rates in September 2024. CommBank has the RBA making a faster series of cuts than Westpac.
In the long-term, the Australia Interest Rate is projected to trend around 3.10 percent in 2025 and 2.85 percent in 2026, according to our econometric models. In Australia, interest rates decisions are taken by the Reserve Bank of Australia's Board. The official interest rate is the cash rate.
Households have endured a sustained cost-of-living squeeze in 2023 that has changed the way we consume. Stubbornly high inflation and rising interest rates have also put many family budgets under severe pressure, especially those carrying big mortgages.
References
- https://www.money.com.au/term-deposit-rates
- https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/feeling-the-cost-of-living-crisis-charts-reveal-who-s-getting-off-lightly-and-who-s-suffering-most-20231221-p5et1u.html
- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/savings/7-percent-interest-savings-account/
- https://www.9news.com.au/national/finance-news-commonweath-bank-forecasts-interest-rates-will-lower-in-2024-and-2025/0a2c0457-0252-41a2-9831-63affbb06091
- https://mozo.com.au/home-loans/articles/what-is-the-average-mortgage-in-australia
- https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/interest-rate
- https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/surprising-amount-aussies-have-in-savings-030731542.html
- https://www.bankrate.com/rates/interest-rates/federal-funds-rate/
- https://mozo.com.au/home-loans/articles/when-will-interest-rates-finally-come-down
- https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/historical-mortgage-rates-30-year-fixed
- https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-mortgage-refinance-rates-today-saturday-17-2024-2
- https://money.usnews.com/loans/mortgages/articles/historical-mortgage-rates
- https://ycharts.com/indicators/china_loan_prime_rate
- https://www.canstar.com.au/home-loans/when-will-interest-rates-go-down/
- https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/mortgage-rate
- https://www.choice.com.au/money/banking/savings-options/articles/top-high-interest-savings-accounts
- https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/todays-housing-crisis-is-worse-than-the-17pc-home-loans-of-the-1980s-20170224-gukd59.html
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chart-day-mortgage-rates-stay-030536086.html
- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/au/personal-finance/what-causes-inflation/
- https://www.9news.com.au/interest-rates
- https://www.asx.com.au/markets/trade-our-derivatives-market/futures-market/rba-rate-tracker
- https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2-85-per-cent-fresh-interest-rate-predictions-and-when-the-first-cut-could-come/ti4b3qwts
- https://ycharts.com/indicators/australia_real_interest_rate
- https://www.finspo.com.au/learn/interest-rate-tracker/