Maybe that’s because Americans move around more and can’t be nailed to a house for 15-30 years like every european homeowner is (where you can neither refinance nor pay back early without paying essentially all future interest payments at once - US mortgage conditions are insanely good).
In AU the standard is a floating rate mortgage, with most fixed alternatives capping out at 5 years (which obviously has much more limited up and downside than a longer duration 30y equivalent). Those fixed loans can be more or less expensive than the variable rate, depending on market conditions.
I got a 20 year fixed at 1.125% and I am really happy the bank can’t get out of it. I really did wonder why they even gave me that money but who am I to complain.
