Singapore’s three-month SOR (Swap Offer Rate) had climbed significantly to 0.367 percent since 23 September but has again fallen to around 0.149 percent, as of yesterday.
“This shows SOR is more volatile,” said John Lee, Head of LoanGuru.com.sg, a free online home financing service. “SOR has climbed up because the US currency recently appreciated significantly against the Singapore dollar. And after all, SOR is more volatile than SIBOR by nature.”
The SIBOR (Singapore Inter-bank Offered Rate) remained unchanged, with the one-month SIBOR still at 0.217 percent.
SIBOR is the interest rate at which banks in Singapore lend to one another. It is also the average market interest rate announced daily by the Association of Banks in Singapore. SOR, on the other hand, is basically the SIBOR factoring in a US dollar to Singapore dollar conversion.
Meanwhile, an Australian bank has increased its interest rates and another bank from China is expected to follow suit soon.
“Banks are always fighting for customers, and on housing loan matters, the most effective tool is to lower interest rates,” noted Lee.
“All this has made SIBOR-pegged packages more favourable. For first-time home buyers, SIBOR is more stable, and thus their monthly instalments will also be consistent.”
For more information, please visit LoanGuru at https://www.loanguru.com.sg/. You may also email them at enquiries@loanguru.com.sg.
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