The first bank to move after the August Reserve Bank Official Cash Rate review was Kiwibank, cutting its floating rate by a matching 25 basis points (bps) to 8.25%. It also cut business lending rates by the same amount, along with similar cuts to Notice Saver and online savings accounts.
ASB has quickly followed with a similar 25 bps cut, and it has cut some fixed rates too. But those don't become effective until August 20.
We should note ANZ made its cut on July 31 of 15 bps to their floating rate taking it to 8.49%. And now ANZ has taken another 10 bps off it to 8.39% matching ASB. Other ANZ floating rates, including for savers, will be falling too.
Westpac has chimed in with its own -25 bps cuts to floating home lending rates, and has also cut its Notice Saver, and bonus saver rates.
| was | cut | Now | |
| % | bps | % | |
| ANZ | 8.64 | -25 | 8.39 |
| ASB | 8.64 | -25 | 8.39 |
| BNZ | 8.69 | -25 | 8.44 |
| Kiwibank | 8.50 | -25 | 8.25 |
| Westpac | 8.64 | -25 | 8.39 |
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. And don't forget, banks have savvy tools at hand to 'know' the likely valuation of your property, so if the loan-to-value ratio (LVR) is near 80% you may not find them very accommodating for a lower rate. With falling house prices, the point where low equity premiums start applying is shifting around as well. See this.
And the carded rates we report here can be different to the rates banks might offer in their banking app. We would like readers to reveal what their banking app shows as the potential offer rates. Please add that market intelligence in the comment section below.
A quick check of the wholesale swap rate chart below gives a clear understanding of where funding costs are heading.
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.
Here is the updated snapshot of the lowest advertised fixed-term mortgage rates on offer from the key retail banks at the moment.
| Fixed, below 80% LVR | 6 mths | 1 yr | 18 mth | 2 yrs | 3 yrs | 4 yrs | 5 yrs |
| as at August 14, 2024 | % | % | % | % | % | % | % |
| ANZ | 6.99 | 6.85 | 6.49 | 6.34 | 5.99 | 6.84 | 6.84 |
 from Aug 20 |
6.89 -0.10 |
6.59 -0.26 |
6.15 -0.34 |
5.99 -0.26 |
5.89 -0.10 |
5.89 -0.10 |
5.89 -0.10 |
 |
6.99 | 6.85 | 6.49 | 6.34 | 5.99 | 5.99 | 5.99 |
 |
6.99 | 6.75 | 6.34 | 6.09 | 6.09 | 6.09 | |
 |
6.99 | 6.85 | 6.49 | 6.19 | 5.99 | 5.99 | 5.99 |
| Bank of China | 6.95 | 6.79 | 6.59 | 6.39 | 6.09 | 6.09 | 6.09 |
| China Construction Bank | 7.19 | 7.09 | 6.89 | 6.75 | 6.49 | 6.40 | 6.40 |
| Co-operative Bank | 6.99 | 6.79 | 6.49 | 6.29 | 5.99 | 6.09 | 6.09 |
| Heartland Bank | 6.69 | 6.49 | 6.35 | 6.15 | |||
| ICBC | 7.05 | 6.85 | 6.65 | 6.49 | 6.39 | 6.29 | 6.29 |
 |
6.99 | 6.85 | 6.49 | 5.99 | 5.99 | 5.99 | 5.99 |
 |
6.99 | 6.69 -0.16 |
6.65 -0.24 |
6.25 -0.24 |
5.99 -0.40 |
5.99 -0.40 |
5.99 -0.40 |
Fixed mortgage rates
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Daily swap rates
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Comprehensive Mortgage Calculator
58 Comments
Comes down to the time factor ... And 'guesswork', albeit extremely complex, mathematical guesswork. Put simply ...
Floating (supposedly) is the cost of borrowing for the next day.
A five year fix is what the banks (or lenders) guess they can still make their margin on for (or in) 5 years.
(Sorry to the boffins in this field. I'm just trying to explain how complex this is in as few a words as possible.)
Retail rates are running ahead of the RB anyway. There's a massive chunk of home loans due to be re-fixed in the next 12 months, so while this cut won't mean much, people who are refinancing can expect some relief that will make the tax cuts at the start of the month look quite small. My loans are due to be refixed in December, it'll be interesting to see not only what rates are like then but how long / short people fix their rates for.
If the FED cut next month where will the inflation come from?....borrowing to invest in an overvalued equities market? borrowing to invest in a collapsing commercial RE market? borrowing to buy residential RE when employment is under pressure? or perhaps it will suddenly become a better idea to set their businesses up north of the Mexican border.
Go back to 2001 elwhen everyone was bemoan the sth Pacific pesos the NZD to US was 50 cents. The bright Paul Holmes was promoting us joining the Aus and a few so called intelligent money people. What happened to the NZ economy and exports and assets then. Even thou there were people running around saying exactly the same things as you.
Your comment ignores the fact that renters are insulated from the full cost of home ownership. While property owners have been hit with multiple cost increases such as back-to-back interest rate increases, rising rates and insurances, rents can only be increased once a year. Many LLs have been 'topping up' their investment properties because their costs have been running ahead of their income. What's worse, last year LLs could only claim 50% of their interest costs, so were being whacked with higher interest costs and a bigger tax bill. That has flowed through to higher provisional tax payments this year. Relief for residential investors won't be felt until next year and full interest deductibility won't be restored until then too, which means a more equitable tax position won't be seen until 2026.
FWIW, while I have increased my rents every year, I haven't factored in higher interest costs. After-all, they're renting my capital, not my mortgage. So, no, my tenants won't be seeing their rents fall with interest rates falling. Any increase will depend on market conditions but will be gobbled up by the massive rates and insurance increases that all property owners are struggling with atm. Btw, market conditions are a bit hard to gauge too. Yesterday this site reported rents were still rising, but I'm not seeing it in my neighbourhood, where they're either flat or falling for new listings.
The WHO just upped it to maximum today, its now a global health emergency so I guess its getting serious. Potentially border closures are coming, you would have to think that halting all flights from Africa would be a starter but no doubt we will still f**k it all up again and leave it too late.
"the temptation to switch rates before their fixed term is up could end up costing them dearly, mortgage brokers told OneRoof"
https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/break-fee-warning-homeowners-tempted-by-…
Same reminder - another time. It's certainly a financial minefield out there...
I just phoned BNZ today, Thu 15 Aug at 3:15pm, and asked if their floating rate was in fact 8.44% and they said NO. I was advised by a Business Partner (who confirmed it with his Business Partner Manager) that BNZ's floating/variable rate is in fact still 8.69% - as per their website! So, you might want to amend your update in this article for BNZ's above advertised floating rate to 8.69%. I was also advised that BNZ's floating rate has not changed in their system and they would not be in a position to amend it manually.
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