Banks test mortgage customer loyalty with out of cycle rate changes
Banks' out of cycle mortgage rate increases, as well as their failure to pass on cash rate cuts in full, have come at the cost of customer loyalty a new survey shows.According to CUA's latest National Mortgage Survey, 14 per cent said they had switched mortgage provider in the prior six months and 28 per cent had considered it.When the same questions were asked in May last year, ten per cent said they had switched and 22 per cent said they were considering it.The main reason for switching or considering switching was to get a loan with a lower rate.However, a big change in the latest survey is that more than a quarter of respondents (27 per cent) said they had moved or were considering moving because their lender had increased rates independently of Reserve Bank changes to the cash rate.In May last year only 14 per cent cited out of cycle rate rises as a reason to switch.Among the survey's other findings, a growing number of young people have opted out of the mortgage market. Thirty-three per cent of people aged 25 to 29 said they had no plans to get a mortgage in the next two years.When asked the same question in May last year, 24 per cent of young people said they had no intention of getting a mortgage in the next two years.A majority of people was unsure what their mortgage interest rate was, with 32 per cent saying they knew the approximate rate and 28 per cent saying they were not sure.