Brokers are bracing for rate cuts

Brokers Are Bracing for Rate Cuts

Mark Stevenson, Managing Director at Bell Partners Finance (now Evolve Lending & Finance), was featured in Australian Broker News in August 2025 alongside fellow brokers ahead of the RBA’s August 12 board decision, with the industry broadly expecting the central bank to cut the cash rate after catching markets off guard with a hold in July.

The July decision had surprised most observers, who had expected the RBA to cut from 3.85 per cent. With all four of Australia’s major banks now forecasting a 25 basis point reduction, and a rate cut widely anticipated to boost borrowing capacity and drive further activity in an already strong property market, brokers around the country were preparing for increased enquiry. Mark’s view was that the RBA would have been justified in moving by 50 basis points at this meeting, given that they had missed an opportunity in July. In his assessment, cutting by half a percentage point was defensible because the board probably should have delivered 25 basis points the month before. Given the RBA’s cautious track record, however, he expected the more likely outcome to be a standard 25 basis point move that would bring the cash rate to 3.6 per cent and provide welcome relief for mortgage holders, with a reasonable hope of another reduction in November.

Other brokers echoed the sentiment that the market was ready for a cut. Bernard Desmond of Melbourne-based Blank Financial noted that customers were actively waiting for the RBA announcement before committing to decisions, and that a rate cut would directly improve borrowing capacity and give property buyers more room to move. Daniel Vizza of Sydney-based Vita Finance pointed to inflation having cooled to around 2.1 per cent and a softening labour market as evidence that conditions in the economy had changed from what the RBA had initially expected, making a cut appropriate even though supply-side constraints continued to keep property prices elevated.

If you want to understand how the rate cut environment affects your home loan, contact Evolve Lending & Finance for a review of your current arrangements.