Westpac lifts floating mortgage rate

Westpac increases its Choices Everyday variable mortgage rate as borrowers switch to fixed rate offers

28th Sep 12, 7:28pm by David Chaston

Westpac has increased its main variable, or floating, interest rate by 15 bps to 5.75% from 5.60% effective Saturday, September 29, 2012 for new customers. It will apply to existing customers from October 20, 2012.

The bank has a standard variable rate of 6.24% which is unchanged.

However, its Choices Everyday rate has been its flagship variable rate, designed for most residential customers who have a floating rate mortgage.

Although Westpac's Choices Everyday is a revolving credit facility with your home loan and everyday banking in one account, Westpac pitched it as their main variable rate offer.

An increase in mortgage rates at this time goes against the recent trend of falling fixed-term rates which have been announced over the past week by a number of institutions.

You can find all the latest rates and recent changes here »

After this increase, Westpac no longer has the best variable rate of any bank, which was a feature of their rate offers. The lowest carded variable rate is now offered by both SBS/HBS and Kiwibank at 5.60%.

Data published today by the Reserve Bank shows that in August borrowers were still shifting away from variable interest rate home loans, a trend that started about six months ago as banks focussed their sharpest rates on their fixed rate offers and borrowers responded.

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Mortgage choices involve making a significant financial decision so it often pays to get professional advice. A Roost mortgage broker can be contacted by following this link »
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Source: interest.co.nz

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9 Comments

by acapulong | 28th Sep 12, 9:44pm 1348825442

This is so unreal! This is like the unjustified increase in water payment this year... With water, we don't really have much choice but with banks, it just takes a little effort to move to another one.

by MortgageBelt | 28th Sep 12, 9:51pm 1348825919

They tried the carrot, now they're trying the stick. Fix guys, then we can lock you in. WP 6.24% floating is a weird rate given all others are 5.74. Redpac customers get .5 discount but seems complicated...

by Father Ted | 29th Sep 12, 9:57pm 1348912631

There's the out-of-cycle floating rate change you were looking for - just not the direction you were thinking!

by iconoclast | 29th Sep 12, 2:53pm 1348887199

Strange. Over the past 3 years, the "hottest topics" on interest.co.nz have been property related. Yet, have never once seen any examination or discussion of the effect of the "auction method" of selling houses versus the "for sale" method. In my experience of attending auctions, if the real-estate agent can get 3 or more genuinely interested parties into a room together and conduct a "sudden death" auction and get some price tension going, the eventual buyer (if very keen) will have been sucked into an "emotional roller-coaster ride", inevitably paying much more than market price. Sometimes well over the market-price. Yet that sale becomes the bench-mark from that point on.

by Stephen Hulme | 29th Sep 12, 3:23pm 1348889018

if the real-estate agent can get 3 or more genuinely interested parties into a room together and conduct a "sudden death" auction and get some price tension going, the eventual buyer (if very keen) will have been sucked into an "emotional roller-coaster ride", inevitably paying much more than market price. Sometimes well over the market-price. Yet that sale becomes the bench-mark from that point on.

Let's say the overpaid price was deliberately engineered to revalue surrounding properties belonging to related party owners.

by HAPPY RENTER | 29th Sep 12, 4:10pm 1348891836

re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Aussie banks will need your money as their economy continues to go pear shaped.

by Black Celebration | 30th Sep 12, 12:00pm 1348959644

The simple reason why estate agents like auctions is that their best chance to force a sale, and a sale equals payment for the agent. $100K difference in purchase price is massive to the vendor but peanuts to the agent's overall payment. This is why a sale, any sale, is always great news for the agent, despite how crestfallen they may appear to be if an auction fails to deliver.

If The Block taught us anything, it taught us that an auction's outcome is not always champagne and roses. These were the 4 highest-profile, primetime marketed houses in NZ. Only one of the houses really delivered on the riches promised by an auction.

by Casual Observer | 30th Sep 12, 2:56pm 1348970194

Recently attended an auction in a location we were thinking of buying in. In response to asking where in the multi-auction programme did the place we were interested appear, agent replied almost a dozen properties would be auctioned in the first hour. At the end of first hour 4 properties had been auctioned. It was like sitting in a room watching teeth being pulled. When they had a short break, we left.

by Black Celebration | 1st Oct 12, 8:22am 1349032923

Good grief. I'd be fuming if I was the vendor. There really should have been an Agent available to talk to you in detail about the house you are interested in buying. They were obviously quite happy to secure a sale (any sale) in the auction.