Following on from recent Home Loan fixed interest rate cuts in the market of late, HSBC has cut their 1, 2, and 3 Year Fixed Interest Rates to 4.99% for “Premier” Customers.

As with most special offers out there currently, “conditions apply” for both new and existing customers. (The qualification for Premier is listed as; combined lending of $500,000 or more, or $100,000 in savings and investments).

Westpac has trimmed their 1 Year Fixed Interest Rate for those taking out $100,000 in new lending, and meeting other criteria, by 0.36% to 4.89%.

3 years fixed falls by 0.51% to 5.39% and 5 years fixed down 0.24% to 5.75%.

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%.

Westpac has trimmed their advertised 5 Year fixed interest rate to 5.99% today.

The spread across their range of fixed interest rates, from the 1 year fixed interest rate of 5.45% to the 5 year fixed interest rate of 5.99%, would be one of the narrowest seen in recent times.

Barfoot & Thompson, Aucklands largest Real Estate firm has announced “In July we sold 998 homes for an average sales price of $591,444,” and that “This number of sales was at the very top end of the scale for recent years.” This compared with 778 properties in July 2011.

The firm’s total sales equated to $590M for July 2012 well up on the $412M of July 2011.

The 4 year fixed interest rate special of 5.79% with ASB has now expired. The Bank also released its year to June 30 numbers with headline profit up a stellar 21% to $685M. Total lending stood at $53B and total deposits a shade under $39B. Impairment losses on loans fell to a paltry $47M.

Westpac is running a 1 year fixed interest rate special of 4.99% provided your loan is less than 80% of the value of the home.

Another “Special” thru tonight from ASB and Sovereign of a 4 year fixed interest rate @ 5.79%.  Available for new and existing customers provided the loan to value ratio is under 80% the announcement notes it “is for a limited time only”.

Enjoy your weekend.

Notification thru today from ASB of a special, 5 year fixed interest rate of 5.99%. Available for new and existing customers provided the loan to value ratio is under 80% the announcement notes it “is for a limited time”.  This sort of rate was last seen in the wild back in February 2009, when for a 6 week period, 5 years fixed at 5.95% was available.

Home loan fixed interest rates continued to fall throughout May. 2 year fixed interest rates now sit around the 5.50% mark and 3 years fixed, around 5.75%.

However with a bit of negotiation customers who meet the Banks preferences are still able to get substantial discounts off those rates.  It is not uncommon to see 2 years fixed at 5.10% and 3 years fixed at 5.35% as the major banks are still prepared to heavily discount in order to get new business on board and some hefty fixed interest rate penalty break fees are being paid to help get a new customer across.

A fair chunk of mortgage applications over the past 6 months have been First Home buyers, although many have been missing out at Auctions as prices are firmer than their expectations, but we hear now of a refinancing element that is more active in the finance market.  These are those who are willing, and able, to move their business to a new bank in the chase for a better interest rate.

The Official Cash Rate gets reviewed on Thursday this week, the market had been pricing in a cut but Barfoots, the largest Real Estate Agency in Auckland, trumpeted a 31% increase in house sales in May and Spain has trumpeted a bank bailout of sorts over the weekend so i suspect another hold at the 2.50% level is on the cards.

ANZ led off in the middle of last week by trimming its home loan 1 year fixed interest rate to 5.25% from 5.65% as a response to Kiwibanks offer of 4.99% 1 year fixed for those with a minimum of 30% equity in their property.

Sovereign has late this afternoon reduced 1,2 and 3 year fixed interest rates. Their 3 year fixed interest rate falls from 6.10% to 5.75%.

The Bank finance market has been very very competitive in recent times with heavy discounting off the advertised interest rates regularly being offered. These fixed interest rate cuts look more like a “promotional” activity and effectively just get closer into line with what lenders have been offering of late anyway. Even with todays fixed interest rate cuts one is quite likely to get better than the above rates if prepared to ask the question.  A word then to those considering interest rate options…Ask for a better rate!!.

I would expect the other lenders to follow Sovereign in the very near future. Swap rates have been declining on the back of an uptick in European jitters and the recent poor employment number here has assisted the declines.

Sayonara