Investors push home loan refinancing levels to record high $17.8 billion

A recent surge in switching among Australian property investors has helped lift the amount of mortgage refinancing being undertaken to record levels.

Lending indicators released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last week show that mortgage holders refinanced roughly $17.8 billion worth of home loans to another lender in the month of August. That figure is the highest ever recorded by the ABS, beating out the previous record of $17.2 billion revealed last month.

Despite an overall rise, owner occupier refinancing actually dropped by 1% month-on-month, though it still reached over $11 billion during August. Meanwhile, refinancing among investors surged by 11.5% to a new high of $6.53 billion. 

External refinancing (seasonally adjusted). Source: ABS lending indicators, August 2021

As the ABS’ graph above shows, refinancing levels have gone through the roof in recent years - more than doubling since October 2018. This is perhaps unsurprising, as the Reserve Bank has cut the official cash rate six times over that period and lenders have followed suit by dropping home loan rates for borrowers.

In fact, since October 2018, the average variable rate in the Mozo database (P&I repayments, 80% LVR) has fallen by 121 basis points for owner occupiers and 125 basis points for investors. 

As a result of these drops, existing mortgage holders have been presented with a real opportunity to switch their loan to a lower interest rate - an opportunity that, as the data indicates, many seem to be taking. 

RELATED: Multiple lenders are offering $3,000 cashback to refinance your home loan

Ready to find out if you can make the most of the current low interest rate environment by switching to a better deal on your mortgage? 

Our dedicated refinance home loan comparison table lets you compare refinancing offers from a range of different lenders all in one place. Or if you’re eager to get looking straight away, check out some of the great deals in the table below.