The largest home loan lender cuts its rate card, but in this tight market, discounts from that are becoming rarer. Savers are paying for this discounting because wholesale rates aren't shifting lower

Following last week's rate cuts by ASB, the next to move home loan rates down is ANZ, cutting both mortgage rates - and matching that with term deposit rate cuts too. [ Update: Please note that BNZ has now shifted its rates lower. Details here. ]

While ANZ's moves either match, or even exceed ASB's levels, the fact they are now starting to distinguish their rate card by less than 5 basis points (bps) is sending a signal: they are near the limit of what they can (or want to) cut.

It is rare for rate card offers to feature a "7" or a "4". But ANZ is there now. 5 bps are now precious.

And the other 'tell' is that the rate cards are basically their minimum. App discounts for refi customers, or 'deals' for brokers', or discretion for front-line mortgage managers are being pulled way back. The rate card is basically it at present.

And these cuts are being 'funded ' by savers; +/- 20 bps home loan rate cuts are matched by +/- 20 bps term deposit (TD) cuts in the most popular terms.

And ANZ no longer have any TD rates starting with a "5". The other main banks that still do (like BNZ, Kiwibank), will no doubt be pulling those soon too. To get 5% rates you will need to switch to a challenger bank. In the age of the Depositor Compensation Scheme, having multiple banks set up will be a good idea for savers. You can use their apps to make switching on maturity easy as you struggle to hold on to  any small benefit.

Wholesale rates are basically stable now, limiting the funding option by chasing wholesale down. That option is closed off at present.

The reader-reported mortgage rates are fluid and may be less frequent now, so please record them, if you have them. We need you to record them in the comment section below, which helps us stay on top of this fast-changing corner of the home loan rates market.

And still 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.

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.

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 January 22 2025	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
ANZ	5.99 -0.25	5.57 -0.22	5.39 -0.20	5.44 -0.15	5.59	6.19	6.19
current reader-reported rates	5.89	5.55	5.39	5.44	5.59
	5.99	5.59	5.39	5.49	5.59	5.79	5.79
current reader-reported rates	5.95	5.59	5.39	5.49	5.59	5.69
	5.99	5.79	5.59	5.59	5.69	5.79	5.89
current reader-reported rates	5.95	5.79	5.39	5.29	5.55	5.59	5.79
	6.15	5.79		5.59	5.69	5.79	5.89
current reader-reported rates
	5.99	5.79	5.69	5.49	5.59	5.59	5.59
current reader-reported rates
Bank of China	6.19	5.79	5.59	5.49	5.49	5.49	5.49
China Construction Bank	6.24	5.79	5.59	5.59	5.59	6.40	6.40
Co-operative Bank	5.99	5.79	5.69	5.59	5.69	5.79	5.79
Heartland Bank		5.49	5.39	5.39	5.45
ICBC	5.99	5.79	5.59	5.59	5.59	5.59	5.59
	6.24	5.89	5.59	5.49	5.69	5.69	5.69
	6.19	5.69	5.79	5.59	5.59	5.69	5.69