"New Zealanders are starting to turn their minds to the future"
Kiwibank has announced a new one-year fixed home loan rate of 2.65%, bringing rates to new lows in the freshly reignited mortgage rate war.
The rate is a record low for Kiwibank, and the decision comes following ASB and ANZ’s decisions to cut their prices across a range of fixed-term rates. Mortgage rates are currently down below 3% for the first time in recent history.
Read more: Mortgage rate war reignited: another bank cuts rates below 3%
Kiwibank has also cut its fixed rates across its 2, 3, 4 and 5 year terms, bringing them down to 2.79%, 3.25%, 3.45% ad 3.55% respectively. The new rates require a minimum 20% equity, and are available from today.
Kiwibank head of borrowing and deposits Chris Greig says the rates should help more New Zealanders into home ownership, while also providing some relief to those in financial difficulty.
“With these new rates we are supporting more New Zealanders to get ahead and fulfil their home ownership goals as well as supporting those over the longer term who might be in a tougher position due to the impact of COVID-19,” Greig said.
“New Zealanders are starting to turn their minds to the future. As New Zealand’s bank we play an important role in the growth and progress of all New Zealanders. We are also key to ensuring competition by offering a better banking alternative.”
“For many customers this has been a challenging time, we have put in place support options, including mortgage repayment deferrals and interest-only payments, and we are continuing to review products and services to make sure we have solutions to meet our customer’s needs,” Greig added.
““We’ll continue to review our rates to ensure that we are competitive, and both our deposit and lending customers are getting a fair deal.”
