S'pore banks raise fixed-rate loans
In an effort to hedge against rising mortgage rates in the US, Singaporeans are expected to switch to fixed-rate loans. However, some local banks have already raised the interest rates on their products. For instance, Maybank increased the interest rate of its three-year fixed loan by 0.1 percentage point on Monday, while ANZ raised its two-year fixed mortgage by 0.17 percentage point. On the other hand, some lenders have put an end to fixed-rate packages. Standard Chartered stopped offering fixed-rates, while Citi discontinued this product last month. Moreover, ANZ's two-year fixed loan rose from 1.48 percent to 1.65 percent, while Maybank's interest rates now start at 1.25 percent for the first year and average out to about 1.4 percent in the next three years. Despite the increase, the rates are still relatively easy on the pocket, as a rise from 1.15 to 1.25 percent works out to an additional monthly payment of around S$50 for a S$1 million 30-year mortgage. However, some fixed rates are 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points higher than the floating rates, so "do not assume refinancing in the future will have lower spreads", noted FindaHomeLoan.sg Founder Sean Lim.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@allproperty.com.sg
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