Mortgages Auctioned Online
Welcome to the latest installment of a new feature here on the Fundit blog, where I review the bank’s regular economic reports, and, along with my own views, presenting the relevant points in an easy-to-read format. I welcome your questions and comments – feel free to send them through to glenn@fundit.co.nz
The effects of the Reserve [...]
Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard announced the release of a report on bank interest rates and margins, amid growing concern from some quarters that the large banks are charging higher interest rates than they should. Floating rate mortgages are “unusually high” at the moment, the Reserve Bank said.
ASB says 6 in 10 surveyed on Housing Confidence think that now is a good time to buy property. The recent boost in housing sales supports this sentiment, likely triggered by the sharp fall in interest rates over the past year.
A couple of articles in the on-line NBR (’English Keen to See Lower Interest Rates‘, 07/05/09 and ‘Labour Attacks Interest Rates‘, 07/05/09) focus on the rather muted efforts of Government and the Reserve Bank to persuade banks to lower their interest rates for home and business loans in the face of: lower funding rates, a [...]
The Reserve Bank cut the OCR interest rate by half a per cent to 2.5% on Thursday 30th April.
They expect the large decline in interest rates over the past year to pass through to more borrowers over coming quarters as existing fixed-rate mortgages come up for re-pricing.
ANZ Property Focus (20/04/09) reports they expect the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates by half a percent on April 30th, paving the way for reductions in fixed mortgage rates, particularly for shorter terms. They also expect to see further signs of increased real estate activity in the next few months.