The Reserve Bank yesterday left the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 2.5 percent.
The closing statement was “On balance, it remains appropriate for the OCR to be held at 2.5 percent.”.
An explicit warning was aimed at the heated property market..”House price inflation has increased and we are watching this and household credit growth closely. The Bank does not want to see financial stability or inflation risks accentuated by housing demand getting too far ahead of supply.”
Westpac Bank has followed on from yesterdays decreases in its 6 month and 1 Year Fixed Interest Rates by releasing a 2 Year Special Fixed Rate of 4.99% today.
Customers who take out at least $50,000 of new lending will be eligible for this special rate and various other conditions apply.
Westpac has trimmed their 6 month and 1 Year Fixed Interest Rates by 0.15%.
Both rates now sit at 5.25%.
ASB has lowered their 3 and 4 year Fixed Interest Rates by 0.15% and their 5 Year Fixed Interest Rate by 0.25%.
These rates are now respectively listed at 5.75%, 5.95%, and 6.25%. Their 2 year Fixed Interest Rate get raised by 0.20% to 5.45%.
An indication through today from one Bank that they would match whatever was offered by another Bank on a 95% lending transaction suggests the recent fiercely competitive home loan lending market remains just that.
Happy New Year to all and hope Christmas went well. 🙂