NAB has announced that its online subsidiary Ubank will offer discounted home loans.
A leading bank has unveiled new home loan deals in an effort to entice would-be buyers back on to the market, with the economic recovery and confidence still relatively fragile following Treasurer Wayne Swan's recent Budget.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Ubank - a subsidiary of National Australia Bank (NAB) - is set to offer consumers home loans at more than 0.5 per cent below NAB's own standard variable rate, knocking up to $4,000 from the average mortgage.
Choice spokeswoman Ingrid Just explained that although online arrangements may at first appear to offer significant savings to clients, it is essential that financial institutions ensure customers have easy and quick access to the relevant terms and conditions.
"One thing [about online mortgages is] it doesn't allow as such is the conversation backwards and forwards for questions people have," she commented. "These questions may not be clear or answerable on frequently asked questions online."
Official figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed this month that the number of home loan approvals had dipped to its lowest level for a decade earlier in the year.
By Nate Sawyer
