Singapore Mortgage Rates Rise After US Fed Hike

The US Federal Reserve's recent interest rate hike has led to higher mortgage rates in Singapore. Major banks have adjusted their fixed and floating-rate home loan offerings, with at least four fixed-rate options for a S$500,000 loan crossing the 2 per cent mark.

Maybank is charging an interest rate of 2.55 per cent for a three-year fixed-rate package, while OCBC is offering 2.08 per cent. Citi has a 2.2 per cent two-year fixed-rate package, and Standard Chartered recently raised its one- and two-year fixed-rate packages by 0.2 percentage points to 2 per cent.

Maryanne Phua, head of home loans at OCBC, explained that the bank adjusted its home loan rates following a 0.25 percentage point interest rate hike in the US on September 17.

As floating-rate mortgages have also increased, home owners are facing higher costs. Clive Chng, associate director of Redbrick Mortgage Advisory, noted that when opting for a fixed-rate package, borrowers are essentially buying insurance against unexpected rate increases.