Mortgages

Right borrowing strategy can ease burden for homeowners

Floating mortgage rates could hit 9 per cent by the end of this year, but the right borrowing strategy can help ease the burden for homeowners.

Monday, September 13th 2004

Homeowners could have saved a tidy packet if they had chosen a fixed-interest-rate mortgage strategy in the past five years, according to Bank of New Zealand chief economist Tony Alexander.

About two-thirds of all mortgages are on fixed rates and that is likely to increase during the next year as floating rates continue to climb, Mr Alexander says.

This week, the Reserve Bank increased official interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 6.25 per cent and the bank's governor, Alan Bollard, said a further rise was likely this year.

A borrower who took out a two-year fixed-term loan in January 1999 and renewed it every two years with a similar term would have saved between 0.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent against the average floating rate over the same period, Mr Alexander said.

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Heartland Bank - Online 6.69
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.74
Wairarapa Building Society 6.95
Unity 6.99
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 7.04
ICBC 7.05
China Construction Bank 7.09
BNZ - Classic 7.24
ASB Bank 7.24
ANZ Special 7.24
TSB Special 7.24
Unity First Home Buyer special 6.45
Heartland Bank - Online 6.45
China Construction Bank 6.75
TSB Special 6.75
ICBC 6.75
ANZ Special 6.79
ASB Bank 6.79
AIA - Go Home Loans 6.79
Kiwibank Special 6.79
BNZ - Classic 6.79
Unity 6.79
Westpac Special 6.39
China Construction Bank 6.40
ICBC 6.49
SBS Bank Special 6.55
Kiwibank Special 6.55
BNZ - Classic 6.55
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 6.55
ASB Bank 6.55
AIA - Go Home Loans 6.55
TSB Special 6.59
Kainga Ora 6.99
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.19
AIA - Back My Build 6.19
ANZ Blueprint to Build 7.39
Credit Union Auckland 7.70
ICBC 7.85
Heartland Bank - Online 7.99
Pepper Money Essential 8.29
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 8.40
Co-operative Bank - Standard 8.40
First Credit Union Standard 8.50
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