{"id":108997,"date":"2026-02-04T08:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T21:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=108997"},"modified":"2026-02-03T19:59:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T08:59:52","slug":"rate-hike-delayed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/rate-hike-delayed\/","title":{"rendered":"Rate Hike Delayed? These Lenders Are Playing the Waiting Game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It\u2019s a rare thing these days \u2014 some banks are actually not raising your mortgage rate. At least not yet. And while that might sound like a lucky break, don\u2019t start celebrating just yet. There\u2019s more to the story than meets the eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Rate Hikes Usually Work \u2014 And Why This Feels Different<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Australians have gotten used to a pattern:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rba.gov.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)<\/a> makes a move, and banks follow \u2014 often with lightning speed. When the RBA cuts rates? Banks hesitate. When it hikes rates? They\u2019re on it like clockwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But this time around, a curious pause is unfolding. Despite the cash rate hitting 3.85%, a surprisingly long list of lenders \u2014 from household names like ANZ, ING, and Macquarie, to smaller players like Horizon Bank or G&amp;C Mutual \u2014 have not yet passed the increase on to their customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is it generosity? Strategy? Delay tactics? Honestly, it\u2019s a bit of all three. Banks are under pressure, and timing matters \u2014 not just for borrowers, but for their bottom lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">At its meeting today, the Board decided to increase the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 3.85 per cent.<br><br>Read the full statement here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WU7w6Qm6ub\">https:\/\/t.co\/WU7w6Qm6ub<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/05rp74vfV8\">pic.twitter.com\/05rp74vfV8<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Reserve Bank of Australia (@RBAInfo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RBAInfo\/status\/2018527825800712602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">February 3, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Some Numbers, If You Like Those<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to recent data reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realestate.com.au\/news\/which-banks-have-not-passed-on-the-latest-mortgage-rate-hike-to-customers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Realestate<\/a>, over 60 banks and lenders have yet to raise their variable mortgage rates. Their current rates hover in the 5.14% to 5.74% range, depending on the loan type, the bank, and the loan-to-value ratio. These are for standard owner-occupier loans, principal and interest, with an 80% LVR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Names like Suncorp, Westpac, St. George, Ubank, and Virgin Money are still holding steady \u2014 for now. But this list is getting shorter by the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Catch: Silence Doesn\u2019t Mean Stability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s where things get tricky. Just because your lender hasn\u2019t changed your rate doesn\u2019t mean they won\u2019t \u2014 or that they won\u2019t do it soon. Many of these delays are just that: delays. They\u2019re reviewing funding costs, watching their competitors, or maybe just trying not to spook customers all at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Graham Cooke from Finder puts it, banks are juggling a lot \u2014 profit margins, savings rates, PR optics. But at the end of the day, most of them will act. And when they do, it\u2019ll be fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Borrowers Can Actually Do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While you can\u2019t stop your lender from eventually <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/next-rate-move-has-households-on-edge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">raising rates<\/a>, you can compare. And right now, that comparison might work in your favour. Cooke notes that the spread between the average rate and the best rate on the market is equivalent to a full RBA cut. So, switching lenders \u2014 or even just threatening to \u2014 might save you more than you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not glamorous, it takes some time, and yes, the paperwork is annoying. But if it keeps your monthly payments from jumping another couple hundred dollars, isn\u2019t it worth a look?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Bottom Line: Don\u2019t Wait for the Letter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If your bank hasn\u2019t hiked your rate yet, great. Enjoy it. But don\u2019t assume it\u2019ll last. Because odds are, that letter (or email, or app notification) is coming. So maybe don\u2019t get too comfortable. In today\u2019s mortgage market, the quiet ones don\u2019t stay quiet for long.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some banks haven\u2019t raised your rate yet \u2014 but that silence won\u2019t last. In a shifting market, knowing when your rate might change is everything.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":106077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108997"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108998,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108997\/revisions\/108998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}