Balance shifting in favour of fixed rate mortgages

Crunch time may be fast approaching for people with floating mortgage interest rates wondering whether to switch to fixed rates.

BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander said people had been holding off fixing to maximise the time paying the lowest floating rates in four decades.

Now, for all but the most risk-loving of borrowers, the balance had shifted in favour of making the jump sooner rather than later, given recent higher than expected inflation and growth data, along with rising wholesale borrowing costs.

Personally, if he were a borrower, he would be inclined to fix a portion of his mortgage in either the two or three year area, Alexander said.

That comment took account of BNZ's latest forecast for when the Reserve Bank will start raising the official cash rate. BNZ said it now expects rises of 0.25 percent in September, October and December.

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name:
Your email:	Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Anti-spam verification:

Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

PGW Guidance Update
CNU - Commerce Commission releases draft expenditure decision
Spark announces departure of Product Director
TGG - T&G appoints new Director
April 18th Morning Report
SKC - APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Devon Funds Morning Note - 17 April 2024
Consultation opens on a digital currency for New Zealand
TWL - TradeWindow's $2.2 million capital raise now unconditional
April 17th Morning Report