CBA cuts investor rates as it consolidates its market lead

Australia’s biggest home loan lender, CBA, has today cut its lowest investor variable rate down to a competitive 5.69% as it steps up competition in the investor mortgage sector.

These cuts of between 0.07 and 0.12 percentage points apply to the banks’ digital-only investor home loan and are for new customers only.

This is the third time the bank has cut the rate on the Digi Home Loan in the past five weeks. The bank’s lowest advertised variable rate was cut by 0.06 on May 7, 0.25 on May 30 on the back of the RBA’s cash rate cut and today’s reduction.

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Notes: Rates are for customers with at least a 40% deposit (LVR of 60% or less). Online-only home loan. Loan available to customers with smaller deposits, however, higher rates apply. Fees apply.

CBA is not the only bank cutting investor new customer rates by more than the RBA’s prescribed cuts.

Tracking shows more than a dozen lenders have cut at least one investor rate by more than 0.25 percentage points since May.

Examples include Suncorp Bank, Newcastle Permanent and Beyond Bank.

CBA leads the charge with the lowest investor variable rates among big four

Before today, CBA already offered the lowest variable home loan rate for investors among the big four banks and today’s rate announcement cements the bank’s lead.

Westpac and ANZ’s lowest investor variable rates are 5.84% and 5.89%, respectively.

NAB is the only big four bank not offering an investor variable rate under 6%. However, NAB-backed ubank’s lowest investor variable rate currently sits at 5.74%.

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Source: Canstar.com.au. Notes: LVR and other requirements apply for lowest rates. CBA, Westpac and some ANZ rates are for digital-only loans. Westpac and ANZ P&I rates are for refinancers only.

Latest APRA Monthly Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI) statistics for April, released 30 May, show CBA currently holds a 27% share of all investor loans to ADIs.

Westpac is its nearest competitor with a 22% share of investor lending.

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Source: APRA monthly ADI statistics for April 2025, released 30 May. Investor mortgages are listed as Loans to households: Housing: Investment.

What is a decent rate for investors now?

5.49% is the lowest variable investor rate, excluding introductory rates and green loans.
Over 30 lenders now offer at least one variable investor rate under 5.75%.

6.06% is the average investor variable rate (post May RBA cut), while the average new customer variable investor rate is 5.96% (estimated).

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Source: Canstar. Note: LVR restrictions and other requirements apply. Excludes first home buyer loans, introductory rates and eco loans.

Gap is closing between owner-occupier and investor rates

Investors have paid a premium for their mortgages since mid-2015. This came on the back of APRA’s introduction of a cap on investor lending growth in late 2014.

However, since late 2022, the gap between the average new home loan rate paid by investors and owner-occupiers is closing.

According to RBA data, the average new investor is paying 0.22 percentage points more than the average owner-occupier. This is down from the most recent peak in October 2022, when the gap was 0.37 percentage points.

Gap between average new variable rates – investors vs owner-occupiers

CBA sends a message to investors

Canstar’s data insights director, Sally Tindall says, “This move by CBA is designed to further consolidate its dominance in the investor mortgage market. It sends a clear message to investors that the door is wide open for their business.”

“This cut is good news for new borrowers, but existing CBA investors might be frustrated to see better deals going to new business while they continue to pay more.

“It will be interesting to see if any of CBA’s key competitors chase after it with investor rate cuts of their own. Westpac is best placed to do this with a gap of just 15 basis points between the lowest investor rates from each bank.

“With variable rates likely to come down further, easing the pressure on borrowers across the country, we could see banks’ appetite for investor loans increase.

“Right now, the gap between the average owner-occupier rate and the average investor rate is just 0.22 percentage points, however, this could get even narrower if competition continues to heat up.

“However, banks aren’t likely to be rolling out the red carpet to every borrower. They’re going to want quality investments, ideally where the rental return is still strong and the owner has a good track record of paying their loan on time.

“If you’ve built up a decent deposit and have a solid rental return, now’s a great time to shop around. There are competitive deals out there, but you’ve got to hunt them down to get them.”

Cover image source: Sutthiphong Chandaeng/Shutterstock.com