Jessica Darnbrough
Less than 24 hours after Citibank announced it would cut the interest on its three year fixed rate, more lenders have slashed the interest on their suite of fixed rate products.
Yesterday afternoon, St George slashed the interest on its one, two and three year fixed rate products.
Effective from today and for a limited time only, St George is offering new or existing customers the chance to lock in their mortgage for one, two or three years at 5.99 per cent.
“In the current environment, more people are looking for the certainty that a fixed rate mortgage provides,” St George’s general manager mortgage broking Clive Kirkpatrick said.
“However, many people want flexibility as well as a great rate. Our customers can choose to fix all of their home loan rate at 5.99 per cent p.a. or split their home loan between fixed and variable rates. This way, they can take advantage of both the 5.99 per cent p.a. offer and our highly competitive variable rates.”
In addition, until 31 May, St George is offering discounts of up to 0.8 per cent p.a. off new Standard Variable Rate Home Loans and new Portfolio Loans for total borrowings over $500,000 under the Advantage Package.
St George is also offering new customers $700 towards switching costs on selected new home loans under Advantage Package, if they switch their home loan of $250,000 or more from another financial institution.
But St George isn't the only lender to trim the interest on its fixed rate products.
RAMS also cut up to 30 basis points from its two and three year rates, taking them both to 5.99 per cent.
RAMS chief executive Melos Sulicich said the special fixed rate reductions allow customers to enjoy the market leading fixed home loan rate and certainty of monthly repayments.
“There’s simply no better time to forget the banks and forget rate rises with the new discounted RAMS 2 and 3 year fixed loan interest rates of just 5.99 per cent p.a.,” Mr Sulicich said.
“With greater competition in the lending market, home buyers now have more choice and flexibility than ever before making it the perfect time to make the break from their current lender.”