National Australia Bank hikes interest rates for property investors

National Australia Bank has announced a raise in interest rates for property investors. The announcement is the latest in the series of similar measures from major lenders. This, according to experts, is done to balance pressure on market profits.

The third largest among lenders, NAB said that the hike will come into effect from Monday. Both existing and new property investors will have to pay the hiked variable rates, 15 basis points. It will increase price up to 5.55 percent. The variable interest rates for owner-occupied home loans will remain the same at 5.25 percent.

On a standard 30-year $300,000 loan, the monthly repayments will increase by $28 to $1,713. On a $500,000 loan the repayments will increase by $47 to $2855, and on a $1 million loan the repayments will increase by $94 to $5709, writes News.com.au.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that banks are keeping their fingers crossed. The “interest rate party” is over and the only way is a hike. Mortgage interest rates are on the increase and it will affect the residential property market in Sydney and Melbourne. Westpac will also increase the rates on interest-only loans from Dec. 16.

The lender’s owner-occupier interest-only variable rate will rise by 8 basis points to 5.41 percent, and its investor rate will rise 8 basis points to 5.68 percent. The rate of equity access loan will increase to 15 basis points to 5.80 percent. These measures are taken to target investors.

The hikes come in the backdrop of the recent rise in property lending. Rivals are closely monitoring the changes. One of them even indicated that it would not hesitate to pass on the higher cost to customers if required.