Top home loan rates, regional property growth, energy prices: This week’s best banking news

• The top home loan rates in 2021
• Regional property growth significantly higher than Aussie major cities 
• Who’s cutting prices to Victorian Energy? 
• Sell your home? Here’s how the costs are split 
• Aussies looking to save for the future as spendings hikes at the end of 2020 
• 5 expenses to ditch this year and boost your savings 
  

All in this week’s best banking new recap: editor’s pick. 

Which lenders offer the top fixed and variable home loan rates in 2021? 

In 2020, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut its official cash rate by 0.65%, so many home loan rates have been subject to significant changes. 

Currently, if your mortgage has a rate above 3.00%, the truth is, you are likely paying too much. This is because a large percentage of owner occupier home loans now have rates that start with ‘2’ while others even start with ‘1’. 

So who offers hot rates right now? Here’s a breakdown of the top 3 fixed and top 3 variable rates on the Mozo database: 

Fixed (3-year) 

1. UBank UHomeLoan (Fixed) - 1.95% (2.27% comparison rate*)
2. IMB Bank Fixed Home Loan - 1.97% (2.97% comparison rate*)
3. QBank Fixed Rate Special - 1.97 (3.39% comparison rate*) 

Variable (up to 80% LVR)

1. Reduce Home Loans Super Saver Variable - 1.99% (2.05% comparison rate*) 
2. Pacific Mortgage Group Standard Variable Home Loan - 2.09% (2.09% comparison rate*)
3. Homestar Star Essentials Home Loan - 2.14% (2.19% comparison rate*) 

Read full article: What are the best home loan rates in 2021? for the full breakdown of the lowest rates right now. 

Aussie regional property growth more than triple of capital cities 

Over the last 12 months, property values in Aussie regional markets have grown by nearly 7%, found CoreLogic. 

This is more than three times the growth than that of capital cities (average). While across the nation, 2020 ended with a total 3% growth in the value of homes. 

“Record low interest rates played a key role in supporting housing market activity, along with a spectacular rise in consumer confidence as COVID-related restrictions were lifted and forecasts for economic conditions turned out to be overly pessimistic,” CoreLogic’s research director, Tim Lawless says. 

“Containing the spread of the virus has been critical to Australia’s economic and housing market resilience.” 

Read full article: Regional property growth three times higher than capital cities for comments from Managing director of Streamline Property Buyers, Melinda Jennison. 

Victorian Energy: which providers are dropping prices this year?

The Essential Services Commission (ESC) has announced that the Victorian Default Offer (VDO) will drop for both residential and small business customers. 

The VDO came into effect on 1 July 2019, and is a default energy offer available to Victorian customers who don’t compare energy provider offers or switch plans. It also replaced standing offers and capped prices, preventing energy retailers from charging expensive plans to customers. 

The changes to the VDO are as follows: 

• Down by 10% for residential customers, equating to $159 per year  
• 14% for small business customers, equating to $916 per year 
  

Big energy players, Origin Energy, AGL and EnergyAustralia have all announced they will be lowering energy prices for Victorians.   

Read full article: Victoria Energy Price Update, who's cutting prices in 2021? for an in-depth look at when these retailers are making changes. 

What costs to expect when selling your home

While you may think of a large lump sum of money when selling your home, the truth is that it comes with a bunch of costs you may not know about. 

Costs like real estate agent fees, conveyancer fees and the cost of marketing your property to potential buyers are often unavoidable. However, there are some other voluntary costs that some sellers fork out in an attempt to bump up the value of their home. 

Here’s a brief rundown of some of these additional costs: 

• Agent commission: usually between 1 and 3 percent of the sales price 
• Conveyancer fees: anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 
• Marketing fees: usually between 0.5 and 1 percent of the property’s value
• Home loan break cost fees (if you still have a mortgage on your home): generally in the thousands for fixed loans 
• Home staging: around $2,000 for a six week display
• Pre-sale cleaning and repairs: depends on size of your property
• Auction fees: around $600 for an auctioneer’s services if not included in real estate agent’s fees. 
  

Read full article: What are the costs involved in selling a home? to deep dive into each cost you may face. 

Aussie spending up but so is urge to save for the future

New stats from UBank have revealed that Australians are looking to save more for retirement and the future as 2020 drew to a close, with 42% putting money away for an emergency fund. 

On the flip side though, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported an increase in retail spending in the final quarter of last year. 

Popular items like clothing, footwear, recreational goods and cosmetics saw a rise in spending to above 2019 levels.

Similarly, household spending on things like furniture, gardening supplies, electronics and hardware was also 22% higher than the previous November.  

Read full article: How to trim your spending and bulk up your savings in 2021 for some handy tips on how to increase your stash this year. 

Need to save in 2021? Here are 5 expenses you can ditch and save yourself thousands 

If saving more money is your 2021 new year’s resolution, it’s time to start making changes. And they may be easier than you think. 

So we’ve put together 5 expenses that you can bid farewell this year to help plump up your savings stash: 

1. Can the takeaway coffees: With the average coffee sitting at $3.96, giving up one coffee five out of seven days could save you around $80 a month! 
2. Bring your own lunch to work: Some takeaway meals are around $10 to $15, by making your own lunch everyday you could save around $300 per month.
3. Borrow books: Library books are free (considering you return them on time), so you could save yourself a juicy $20 or $40 each time you sit down with a new read.
4. Switch energy providers: You could save hundreds if not thousands this year by switching to an energy provider with lower prices. 
5. Workout for free: If you are currently paying for a gym membership, you could save yourself anywhere from around $20 to $100 per week for opting to work out at a local park or at home.  

Read full article: 5 expenses to ditch in 2021 that could boost your savings by thousands for a full rundown of these handy tips. 

Want to find somewhere to stash your 2021 savings? Check out these hot savings account options below!