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NSW borrowers getting better rates than Queenslanders

by Reporter10 minute read
NSW borrowers getting better rates than Queenslanders

Lenders are providing better loan rates to their customers in New South Wales than in Queensland, according to recent findings by mortgage marketplace HashChing.

An analysis of HashChing’s settlement data from March 2017 to April 2018 across 11 lenders found that lower interest rates were provided to customers in NSW than in Queensland.

The banks that were found to be offering the “least similar” rates across the two states were ANZ Bank, Bankwest and AMP, with average interest rates in NSW in the threes, compared to the fours in Queensland.

According to HashChing’s data, ANZ’s average interest rate over the analysis period was 3.98 per cent in NSW and 4.37* per cent in Queensland, making the largest difference of 39.57 basis points.

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The mortgage marketplace said that this difference means that ANZ’s customers in Queensland are paying nearly an additional $2,000 in mortgage repayments per year than their NSW counterparts.

Following ANZ was Bankwest, with an average interest rate of 3.99 per cent in NSW and 4.27 per cent in Queensland, while AMP’s average rates were 3.82 per cent and 4.03 per cent in NSW and Queensland, respectively.

Meanwhile, ING, Macquarie and Suncorp were found to be providing the “most similar” rates, ranging around the 3 per cent mark, with Queensland customers getting the slightly lower rate by all these lenders.

ING’s average interest rate was 3.83 per cent in NSW and 3.80 in Queensland; Macquarie’s was 3.81 per cent in NSW and 3.79 in Queensland; and Suncorp’s was 3.84 per cent in NSW and 3.76 per cent in Queensland.

National Australia Bank and Westpac were similar in offering a slightly lower rate to their Queensland customers. The former’s average interest rate was 3.99 per cent in NSW, compared to 3.85 per cent in Queensland; and the latter’s was 3.94 per cent in NSW, compared to 3.86 per cent in Queensland.

The Commonwealth Bank, on the other hand, offered lower interest rates to its customers in NSW (average of 3.87 per cent) than those in Queensland (average of 3.96 per cent).

Mandeep Sodhi, CEO of HashChing, noted that the rates available through its platform are “well below the industry average of 4.5 per cent, which is a testament to the negotiation skills of HashChing’s partner brokers”.

“The rates that banks offer customers who walk through the front door are typically a lot higher than what brokers are able to negotiate on their clients’ behalf,” the CEO said.

*This figure was updated on 15.06.2018 to correct a typo.

[Related: Banks forced to make hard decisions on expenses, serviceability]

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