Kiwibank has jumped to the head of the queue with its latest fixed home loan offers, targeting the most popular terms at the short end

Despite wholesale swap rates holding without any material direction since the start of 2025, the bank competitive spirit is still alive in the home loan market - all at the expense of savers.

The latest to move down is Kiwibank.

They have launched a market leading six month fixed rate of 5.79%. And a market leading one year fixed rate of 5.19%. Both are lower than the carded rates of any other bank, including their main bif Aussie rivals.

These two fixed rates are important because that is where the weight of the fixed terms are in the current market.

Kiwibank also has a competitive 6.75% floating rate among the majors.

But it is the Co-operative Bank who has a lower floating rate, at 6.45% and a 30 bps advantage over Kiwibank.

The Co-operative Bank also reduced some fixed rates today (and like Kiwibank, matching term deposit rate cuts).

After these changes, the lowest floating rate from any bank is that rate from the Co-operative Bank, 6.45%.

The lowest carded six month rate is now Kiwibank's 5.79%.

The lowest carded one year rate is also from Kiwibank, 5.19%.

For an 18 month term, the lowest rate is 5.19% from ANZ and ASB.

ANZ has the lowest two year carded rate at 4.99%, the lowest rate for any term.

For three years, the 5.29% ANZ carded rate is the market low.

For four years it is the 5.39% from Westpac. And it is the same 5.39% from Westpac for five years fixed.

This is a market dominated by the main banks, and they are leading it with low carded rates. This is an indication of how competitive it is. They no longer step back and use their off-card discretionary discounts to hold and win business. They now have to use the carded rate levels.

That is not to say discretionary discounts are unavailable. They probably are. But they will be used to retain business, and that means any significant levels below the lowest main bank carded rates are unlikely.

The reader-reported mortgage rates are still fluid but 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.

Despite the tightness, 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 February 21, 2025	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
ANZ	5.89	5.29	5.19	4.99	5.29	5.99	5.99
current reader-reported rates
	5.89	5.49	5.19	5.29	5.59	5.79	5.79
current reader-reported rates				4.99
	5.89	5.55	5.39	5.29	5.59	5.69	5.79
current reader-reported rates
	5.79 -0.20	5.19 -0.36		5.29 -0.10	5.59	5.79	5.89
current reader-reported rates
	5.99	5.49	5.29	5.29	5.39	5.39	5.39
current reader-reported rates
Bank of China	5.85	5.49	5.35	5.25	5.49	5.49	5.49
China Construction Bank	5.99	5.57	5.39	5.44	5.59	6.40	6.40
Co-operative Bank (*=FHB only)	5.89 -0.10	5.39* -0.10	5.49	5.49	5.69	5.79	5.79
Heartland Bank		5.49	5.39	5.39	5.45
ICBC	5.99	5.55	5.39	5.59	5.59	5.59	5.59
	6.09	5.69	5.49	5.49	5.59	5.79	5.79
	5.89	5.35	5.49	5.29	5.59	5.79	5.89