Fed interest rate hike: What this means for Singaporean homeowners

While most of Singapore was sleeping, the US Federal Reserve raised its interest rates yet again. Known to the common man as The Fed, the whispers of interest rate hikes have been swirling around the financial sector for a while now.

The latest hike is the sixth this year. In July, we saw interest rate increase by another 0.75 points from 1.75 per cent to 2.5 per cent. The move was a bid to control inflation. This November, we saw another 0.75 points hike, bringing us to a current Fed interest rate of 3.75 per cent to 4 per cent.

The United States might be 15,549 kilometres apart from Singapore but the decisions made by the financial institutions there cause a ripple effect here given just how closely our economy is tied to that of its global counterparts. If this all sounds like Greek to you and all you really want to know is how it affects you directly, read along. Here’s the breakdown of what the FED’s interest rate hike means for you:

1. What is Fed interest rate?

The Fed essentially controls the interest rate in which institutions borrow money at, and after the massive housing and banking sector crash of 2007-2009, they lowered the cost of borrowing to near rock-bottom levels in a bid to stop the US economy from plunging into another Great Depression. To put it simply, institutions needed money to stay afloat, and this lowered interest rate made funds a lot more accessible.

The current interest rate increase comes at a time where the Fed feels that it is an essential move to lower the inflation rate. Inflation rates are soaring around the world largely due to post-pandemic demand and the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. In America, inflation is increasing in a faster pace than it has in the last 40 years.

To curb inflation, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) increased the level of its benchmark fees in July 2022 to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. This was expected to further increase to 3.4% in the next 6 months with subsequent hikes expected later in the year.

Today, in November, the Fed increased its interest rates by 0.75 basis points to 3.75% to 4%.

2. What happens when the Fed raises interest rates?

Right about now, you might be wondering why we are even talking about something that’s going on in the US. In the past, Singapore home loan interest rates were pegged to the Singapore Interbank Offer Rate (SIBOR). SIBOR was the cost of funds for a foreign bank to bring in money (in USD) which was usually dependent on the US interest rate.

However, SIBOR is currently being phased out. The 6-month SIBOR was discontinued on March 31, 2022. The more commonly used 1-month and 3-month SIBOR is due to stop after 31 December 2024.

All new home loans in Singapore are now benchmarked by the Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA). SORA is defined as the volume-weighted average borrowing rate in Singapore’s unsecured overnight interbank cash market. In layman terms, it’s the interest rate that banks in Singapore have transacted to each other on a day to day basis. The changes to the US Fed Funds Rate have global repercussions, including an effect on the SORA.

For many Singaporeans who might have taken their home loans during the market drop in the thick of the pandemic in 2020, interest rates were at an all-time low. Since then, things have obviously changed drastically and this has a very direct impact on the home loans that Singaporean homeowners are currently servicing. For instance, 3M SORA interest rate in January this year  was 0.194 per cent. The 3M SORA as at 29 July 2022 is 1.2295 per cent. Today, the 3M SORA interest rate in November 2022 is 2.4945 per cent.

Needless to say, you can expect a gradual increase in SORA over the next 6 months, which will in turn affect SORA-linked home loan packages.  

3. What can Singaporean homeowners do then?

If you were previously tied to a SIBOR-linked home loan package, the banks will gradually convert it into SORA ones in the coming few years. Historically, when the Fed hiked their interest rates in 2015, we saw a strong shift away from SIBOR-linked home loan packages.

As history repeats itself with interest rates set to only increase in the coming months, it only makes financial sense to steer clear of SORA-linked home loan packages. You don’t want to be at the mercy of floating interest rates given that they are only projected to rise.

It is during times like this that the security of taking up a Fixed Rate home loan package presents itself as the safer choice. This way, you won’t be disadvantaged by high floating interest rates. If you’re looking to buy a new home, it is important that you carefully consider all your options.

However, if you’re looking to get out of you SIBOR or SORA-linked home loan, you can consider refinancing into one of the two types of home loan packages that are very popular at the moment:

4. Floating vs fixed rate home loans

While fixed rate packages usually have higher interest rates than floating interest rate packages, people still gravitate towards these packages because of the complete lack of any fluctuations during the time period in which the fixed interest rate applies. It’s important to consider your finances when refinancing into a fixed rate package earlier rather than later because of the rising interest rate environment.

Note: DBS has stopped offering fixed rate home loans as of Sept 23, 2022, Friday, in response to the Fed interest rate hike.

For instance, if you’re taking a floating rate package with DBS home loan to purchase a HDB: