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My Mortgage Freedom founder and CEO Anthony Alabakov says this has evaporated savings for a huge portion of clients in their accumulation phase, and this is flowing through to small businesses and private sectors.
Anthony Alabakov
My Mortgage Freedom founder and CEO
Back in 2021 and early 2022, Alabakov says no one predicted that interest rates would rise as quickly as they did from their historic lows.
“A lot of people maxed out their borrowing capacity, we had confidence from the government we’d be in a stable economy for the foreseeable future. Lots of people would have made different decisions if they knew what they were walking into,” Alabakov says.
“Couple that with the cost of living crisis as a result of bad monetary decisions through the pandemic, and we’re at boiling point”
The Reserve Bank of Australia recently indicated that there is unlikely to be any interest rate cuts for at least six months following its decision in August.
“It is going to have to shift soon, we’ve seen the US, Canada, the UK and New Zealand all change their policies. We’re going to have to join the party” says Alabakov.
While it’s difficult to predict more than a few months into the future, keeping an eye on what the banks are doing in regard to fixed rates can sometimes provide an indication of which way the RBA and variable rates will go in the future.
“For example, in the past month, fixed rates have been slashed in the background. Fixed rates hit a high of around 7 per cent, but now you can get a fixed rate as low as 5.5 per cent,” says Alabakov.
“When those fixed rates come down it’s often a validating signal of where variable rates are headed”.
“So, if I was a betting person, I would say that the rates in the future will likely go down rather than up just because that’s what the banks are predicting and basing their pricing on.”
The broking firm says home loan rates are currently sitting around roughly 6 per cent, but vary by around 30 bps in terms of the best rate and the highest rate in terms of home loans. Investment loans are sitting around the mid-6 per cent range.
However, Alabakov says the banks are constantly changing their discounts, this essentially means constant movements in their interest rates despite the RBA having kept rates on hold for six months now.
“They’re changing their interest rates all the time, variable rates have gone from 6.19 per cent to 5.94 per cent with some lenders with no RBA movement” he says.
“We run pricing across all the lenders and we see fluctuations every week.”
The constant fluctuations across different mortgage products from different lenders are what drove the firm to develop first to market technology to monitor these constant changes in real time.
The Rate Tracker service, established by Alabakov and co-founder Sean Murphy uses open banking and artificial intelligence to monitor Australian interest rates across the mortgage market. https://www.ratetracker.com.au/
“It allows us to monitor people’s mortgages through technology so that clients don’t have to do it,” Alabakov says.
“To do that, we get a real time feed of someone’s basic loan data and interest rate and compare it with the benchmarks of current offers in the market.
Rate Tracker website & mobile app
The Rate Tracker service, established by Alabakov and co-founder Sean Murphy uses open banking and artificial intelligence to monitor Australian interest rates across the mortgage market. https://www.ratetracker.com.au/
“It allows us to monitor people’s mortgages through technology so that clients don’t have to do it,” Alabakov says.
“To do that, we get a real time feed of someone’s basic loan data and interest rate and compare it with the benchmarks of current offers in the market.
“We are constantly updating the rates and if there’s an opportunity to save money by renegotiating with the bank or speaking to someone from a new bank to refinance, then we tell them what can be done.”
Alabakov says that over the life of a mortgage, the mortgage will often become more and more uncompetitive.
The Rate Tracker service, established by Alabakov and co-founder Sean Murphy uses open banking and artificial intelligence to monitor Australian interest rates across the mortgage market. https://www.ratetracker.com.au/
“It allows us to monitor people’s mortgages through technology so that clients don’t have to do it,” Alabakov says.
“To do that, we get a real time feed of someone’s basic loan data and interest rate and compare it with the benchmarks of current offers in the market.
“We are constantly updating the rates and if there’s an opportunity to save money by renegotiating with the bank or speaking to someone from a new bank to refinance, then we tell them what can be done.”
- Alabakov
Alabakov says that over the life of a mortgage, the mortgage will often become more and more uncompetitive.
“The Rate Tracker service ensures that we’re monitoring this and always staying on top of clients’ interest rates,” he says.
When a client receives an alert that there may be better options for their loan, the customer care team at My Mortgage Freedom is able to assist them and either renegotiate for a better deal or review their situation and personal circumstances and potentially recommend another lender.
However, Alabakov says the team is careful to assess whether there is enough financial incentive for the client to switch loan products.
My Mortgage Freedom has been working with accounting firms for well over a decade and offers services across residential property, commercial development, SMSF and SME lending, and a range of other lending areas.
As part of the overall service offered to accounting firms, the firm provides access to the Rate Tracker service to their clients and portfolio audits to determine what savings are on the table for accounting clients in bulk.
Anthony Alabakov
My Mortgage Freedom founder and CEO
My Mortgage Freedom is a forward-thinking mortgage broking company committed to helping Australians achieve financial independence. With a strong focus on teamwork, innovation, and providing personalised service, we guide our clients through the complexities of home loans and finance with clarity and expertise.
Founded in 2011, the goal from day one was to create a world-class experience and lead the pack with innovating the way home loans are provided to Aussie’s.
Our experienced team of brokers are dedicated to finding the best solutions for each client, whether they are first-home buyers, investors, refinancers or those seeking SMSF or commercial lending options. We believe in empowering our clients with the right information and tools, helping them make informed decisions that align with their financial goals.
My Mortgage Freedom also helps many Accounting and Financial Planning firms nationwide to diversify their business’ by providing finance to their customers with a unique offering to increase retention and attract new clients.
RateTracker is Australia’s first, direct-to-consumer Fintech product designed to help Aussie’s stay informed and track their mortgage rates with ease. This system was built out of frustration, with far too many Australian’s being overcharged on their home loans – RateTracker changes this.
With RateTracker, homeowners can monitor their mortgage rates effortlessly, receiving instant updates and alerts when changes occur in the market or there’s an opportunity to save. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and a customer-first approach, RateTracker aims to revolutionise the way Australians manage their mortgages, providing transparency and peace of mind at every step.
Our goal is to empower clients with the knowledge they need to make proactive financial decisions and avoid being caught off guard by rate fluctuations. We also provide a unique partnership opportunity for professional services, to achieve greater visibility of your clients as well as an innovative customer add-on, to give you that market edge.
