tmmonline.nz  |   landlords.co.nz        About Good Returns  |  Advertise  |  Contact Us  |  Terms & Conditions  |  RSS Feeds

NZ's Financial Adviser News Centre

GR Logo
Last Article Uploaded: Thursday, March 28th, 10:13PM

News

rss
Latest Headlines

Floating mortgage rates unlikely to rise this year as OCR remains on hold

Floating mortgage rates are unlikely to rise this year after Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard took his cue from deteriorating sentiment about the global economy and kept interest rates on hold, as expected.

Thursday, September 15th 2011, 12:00AM

by The Landlord

That's despite Bollard acknowledging the New Zealand economy is performing relatively well with domestic activity surprising on the upside.

However, the updated forecasts in his Monetary Policy Statement suggest Bollard now won't start raising his official cash rate (OCR) from its current record low at 2.5% until March next year.

He certainly made no mention of removing the "emergency" 50 basis point cut in the OCR made in March in response to the Christchurch earthquakes.

Philip Borkin, an economist at Goldman Sachs, says Bollard's decision was always going to be a balancing act and he opted to place more weight on the global turmoil than the domestic strength.

"The tightening bias is still there," Borkin says. "The Reserve Bank has acknowledged the domestic economy is improving and inflation risks remain."

While the global situation has had little impact on New Zealand so far, it's unlikely New Zealand will remain immune if it continues, he says.

Nick Tuffley at ASB Bank says key changes in the Reserve Bank forecasts are that it now expects the exchange rate to remain very high over a longer period and it expects the gap between the OCR and bank funding costs will remain high for an extended period.

"That's reinforcing the feeling that the OCR doesn't need to go as high to deliver the same lending rate," Tuffley says.

He's expecting the OCR will peak at 4% but acknowledges that lower than most other forecasters. While Tuffley is still forecasting the first OCR rise will be in December this year, "the risks are skewed to later - we're hanging off those global events."

Chris Green at First NZ Capital says it would have been difficult for Bollard to start raising rates when just about every other central bank around the world is looking to support economic growth.

He says the central bank had previously forecast the 90-day bank bill rate peaking at 4.9% but has brought that back to 4.3%.

Green interprets that as meaning the perceived "neutral" level of New Zealand interest rates is now lower. He has changed his forecast for the next OCR rise from December to March next year.

« Bollard likely to keep interest rates on hold this weekBollard spooks market »

Special Offers

Commenting is closed

 

print

Printable version  

print

Email to a friend
News Bites
Latest Comments
Subscribe Now

Mortgage Rates Newsletter

Daily Weekly

Previous News

MORE NEWS»

Most Commented On
Mortgage Rates Table

Full Rates Table | Compare Rates

Lender Flt 1yr 2yr 3yr
AIA - Back My Build 6.19 - - -
AIA - Go Home Loans 8.74 7.24 6.79 6.65
ANZ 8.64 7.84 7.39 7.25
ANZ Blueprint to Build 7.39 - - -
ANZ Good Energy - - - 1.00
ANZ Special - 7.24 6.79 6.65
ASB Bank 8.64 7.24 6.79 6.65
ASB Better Homes Top Up - - - 1.00
Avanti Finance 9.15 - - -
Basecorp Finance 9.60 - - -
Bluestone 9.24 - - -
Lender Flt 1yr 2yr 3yr
BNZ - Classic - 7.24 6.79 6.65
BNZ - Green Home Loan top-ups - - - 1.00
BNZ - Mortgage One 8.69 - - -
BNZ - Rapid Repay 8.69 - - -
BNZ - Std, FlyBuys 8.69 7.84 7.39 7.25
BNZ - TotalMoney 8.69 - - -
CFML Loans 9.45 - - -
China Construction Bank - 7.09 6.75 6.49
China Construction Bank Special - - - -
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special - 7.04 - -
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 8.40 7.24 6.79 6.65
Lender Flt 1yr 2yr 3yr
Co-operative Bank - Standard 8.40 7.74 7.29 7.15
Credit Union Auckland 7.70 - - -
First Credit Union Special - 7.45 7.35 -
First Credit Union Standard 8.50 7.99 7.85 -
Heartland Bank - Online 7.99 6.69 6.45 6.19
Heartland Bank - Reverse Mortgage - - - -
Heretaunga Building Society 8.90 7.60 7.40 -
HSBC Premier 8.59 - - -
HSBC Premier LVR > 80% - - - -
HSBC Special - - - -
ICBC 7.85 7.05 6.75 6.59
Lender Flt 1yr 2yr 3yr
Kainga Ora 8.64 7.79 7.39 7.25
Kainga Ora - First Home Buyer Special - - - -
Kiwibank 8.50 8.25 7.79 7.55
Kiwibank - Offset 8.50 - - -
Kiwibank Special - 7.25 6.79 6.65
Liberty 8.59 8.69 8.79 8.94
Nelson Building Society 9.00 7.75 7.35 -
Pepper Money Advantage 10.49 - - -
Pepper Money Easy 8.69 - - -
Pepper Money Essential 8.29 - - -
Resimac - LVR < 80% 8.84 ▼8.09 ▼7.59 ▼7.29
Lender Flt 1yr 2yr 3yr
Resimac - LVR < 90% 9.84 ▼9.09 ▼8.59 ▼8.29
Resimac - Specialist Clear (Alt Doc) - - 8.99 -
Resimac - Specialist Clear (Full Doc) - - 9.49 -
SBS Bank 8.74 7.84 7.45 7.25
SBS Bank Special - 7.24 6.85 6.65
SBS Construction lending for FHB - - - -
SBS FirstHome Combo 6.19 6.74 - -
SBS FirstHome Combo - - - -
SBS Unwind reverse equity 9.95 - - -
Select Home Loans 9.24 - - -
TSB Bank 9.44 8.04 7.55 7.45
Lender Flt 1yr 2yr 3yr
TSB Special 8.64 7.24 6.75 6.65
Unity 8.64 6.99 6.79 -
Unity First Home Buyer special - - 6.45 -
Wairarapa Building Society 8.60 6.95 6.85 -
Westpac 8.64 7.89 7.49 7.25
Westpac Choices Everyday 8.74 - - -
Westpac Offset 8.64 - - -
Westpac Special - 7.29 6.89 6.65
Median 8.64 7.29 7.32 6.65

Last updated: 28 March 2024 9:42am

About Us  |  Advertise  |  Contact Us  |  Terms & Conditions  |  Privacy Policy  |  RSS Feeds  |  Letters  |  Archive  |  Toolbox  |  Disclaimer
 
Site by Web Developer and eyelovedesign.com