Mortgage holders increasingly opting for fixed rates

Mortgage Holders Increasingly Opting for Fixed Rates

Mark Stevenson, Managing Director at Evolve Lending and Finance (formerly Bell Partners Finance), was featured in Mortgage Professional Australia in November 2025 reporting a notable shift in client behaviour, with more mortgage holders moving toward fixed rate products as the prospect of further interest rate cuts receded against a backdrop of rising inflation.

Evolve Lending and Finance had been documenting an uptick in inquiries about switching to fixed rates, with Mark noting that clients were increasingly opting for one-year fixed options. In most cases, those clients were saving around 0.25 per cent compared to their current variable rate, while also avoiding the typical discharge and application fees associated with changing lenders entirely. The data from Canstar reinforced that shift was underway across the market more broadly: the number of lenders offering fixed rates below 5 per cent had contracted from 46 to 36 in the space of a single month, and 18 lenders had increased at least one fixed rate during November while only 9 had cut rates over the same period.

The macro backdrop explained the trend. The cash rate had remained at 3.6 per cent since the RBA’s August cut, the third reduction of the year, and market participants expected the central bank to hold again at its December 9 meeting. Annual headline inflation had climbed to 3.8 per cent, with the trimmed mean at 3.3 per cent, well above the RBA’s 2 to 3 per cent target. Mark’s assessment of the outlook was direct: there was no prospect of further cuts in 2025, economists were not expecting any relief in the first half of 2026, and there was a real possibility that the next move in rates could be a rise rather than a cut, making the period ahead challenging for mortgage holders.

If you are reassessing your loan structure in light of the changing rate environment, contact Evolve Lending & Finance to explore your options.