For the past two months, the cash rate has remained unchanged. As the RBA mulls the potential for another rate rise before the end of the year, Australian homeowners seeking lesser rates and lower monthly repayments may be considering refinancing.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) latest lending indicators for June 2023 reveal the value of external refinancing (in seasonally adjusted terms) for total housing fell slightly (-3.1%) month-on-month to $20.2 billion, but remained higher (+12.2%) year-on-year.
Refinancing among owner-occupied housing slipped (-2.4%) month-on-month in June to $13.7 billion, but was higher (+11%) compared to a year ago.
Investor housing refinancing fell (-4.5%) to $6.4 billion month-on-month in June, but was 16.2% higher year-on-year.
While these figures don’t match May’s strong numbers, they confirm that home loan refinancing is still robust.
“Refinancing activity has remained at record highs in recent months, as borrowers continued to switch lenders amid interest rate rises,” ABS head of finance statistics Mish Tan said.
The ABS says external refinancing is when a new loan is obtained to replace an existing loan that was provided by a different lender. For housing, it includes refinancing an existing loan for the same residential property. |