BNZ has cut its fixed rates, and is starting the week with one of the lowest rate cards for home loans. (Update: ANZ has cut some too. See below. And so has Heartland Bank. And now Kiwibank.)
BNZ has taken -26 basis points off its six month fixed rate, the term of choice for many borrowers who are prioritising short rates while overall rates are in a strong declining trend.
BNZ has taken -20 bps off its one year rate, taking it down to 5.99% and matching TSB who was the first in the cycle to go below 6% for a one-year rate.
For terms two years and longer, BNZ’s matching its main rivals at the new lower levels.
Since the Official Cash Rate cut, wholesale swap rates have moved little, hovering in a level zone awaiting market signals.
Background international signals have long rates rising.
But markets still expect the next Reserve Bank OCR cut will be another full -50 bps on November 27, at a full Monetary Policy Statement review. But November 27 is still some way off yet so risks of ‘being definite’ now are high.
At these new levels, BNZ has a clear rate advantage over its main rivals.
Update: ANZ has cut rates too, but only the three shortest. The result is tANZ’s matching rivals, except for the 18 month term where it has the lowest offer. ANZ also cut term deposit offers by between -10 bps and -30 bps.
Things are getting strained in real estate markets. September volumes are likely to be soft when they are reported, especially in the volume-important Auckland market. Certainly we don’t see any evidence yet that the spring selling season has started even average. It is below-average. And bank home loan targets are under real pressure when all they can rely on is refinance activity.
Real estate markets rely on momentum as part of their general market pitch.
So competition is pointed at present. And to avoid queering the pitch, a lot of home loan rate activity is going on ‘off-card’.
Off-card rate offers are now where much of the action is. We know that because customers with a home loan can see updated offers from their bank in their bank app. And these often offer significant discounts from the rate cards published.
So we have been asking readers to help shine a light on this opaque practice. Please note actual bank-app offers in the comment stream below and we will add them to our table. This should give borrowers a stronger view of where the mortgage rate market really is.
We have cleared the table below of these reader-reported rates, because they are so fluid. It is a practice we will probably adopt at the start of every week. We need to be reporting current rates from readers
Almost all banks will have some flexibility in their rate offers. So the carded rates are just the start. Negotiate. How flexible they may be will depend on the strength of your financials.
One useful way to make sense of the changed home loan rates is to use our full-function mortgage calculator which is below. Term deposit rates can be assessed using this calculator.
And if you already have a fixed term mortgage that is not up for renewal at this time, our break fee calculator may help you assess your options. Break fees will be minimal in a rising market. But they become important in a falling market, like now. Don’t forget, when you sign up for a fixed rate you are signing a contract. You have been given the right to break it in legislation but the bank has the right to reclaim its costs when you do so. This is NOT evidence of banks making it hard to switch (as some borrowers, and sadly some journalists seem to think).
Here is the updated snapshot of the lowest advertised fixed-term mortgage rates on offer from the key retail banks at the moment. (Be aware that the reader-reported rates are unofficial and may be quite fuzzy themselves.) Updated with new Heartland Bank rates. And new Kiwibank rates.
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