Home loan rates fall again at two more banks, and 5.99% seems to be where carded retail rates are headed with SBS Bank offering that for two years fixed

Two more banks cut carded home loan fixed rates for Friday, August 9. They are just the latest and are unlikely to be the last. It is tough keeping up with all the changes!

Westpac's latest reductions essentially match their main rivals who all made earlier cuts - except for their two year fixed offer at 6.19%, which undercuts all the other big banks by as much as 15 basis points (bps). Now most big banks also offer 5.99% for terms three year to five years.

Westpac also made term deposit rate reductions, some as large as 30 bps.

At the same time SBS Bank has cut its carded home loan offers. They too have settled on 5.99% for the same term range, but also now offer it for a two year fixed term. And that is a 20 bps advantage over the 'low' Westpac offer for that term.

SBS Bank has also changed its deposit requirement for residential investor loans, raising it to 30%.

SBS Bank did not change its term deposit rate offers at this time.

In the background Thursday, two market events mean that there may be more downside for interest rates generally.

Both global and local wholesale rates and benchmark bond rates are still falling.

And local inflation expectations are quickly reducing towards the RBNZ 2% target.

Almost all banks will have some flexibility in their rate offers. So the carded rates are just the start. Negotiate. How flexible they may be will depend on the strength of your financials. And don't forget, banks have savvy tools at hand to 'know' the likely valuation of your property, so if the loan-to-value ratio (LVR) is near 80% you may not find them very accommodating for a lower rate. With falling house prices, the point where low equity premiums start applying is shifting around as well. See this.

And the carded rates we report here can be different to the rates banks might offer in their banking app. We would like readers to reveal what their banking app shows as the potential offer rates. Please add that market intelligence in the comment section below.

A quick check of the wholesale swap rate chart below gives a clear understanding of where funding costs are heading.

One useful way to make sense of the changed home loan rates is to use our full-function mortgage calculator which is below. Term deposit rates can be assessed using this calculator.

And if you already have a fixed term mortgage that is not up for renewal at this time, our break fee calculator may help you assess your options. Break fees will be minimal in a rising market. But they become important in a falling market.

Here is the updated snapshot of the lowest advertised fixed-term mortgage rates on offer from the key retail banks at the moment.

Fixed, below 80% LVR	6 mths	1 yr	18 mth	2 yrs	3 yrs	4 yrs	5 yrs
as at August 9, 2024	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
ANZ	6.99	6.85	6.49	6.34	5.99	6.84	6.84
	6.99	6.85	6.49	6.25	5.99	5.99	5.99
	6.99	6.85	6.49	6.34	5.99	5.99	5.99
	6.99	6.75		6.34	6.09	6.09	6.09
	6.99 -0.06	6.85	6.49 -0.16	6.19 -0.30	5.99 -0.30	5.99 -0.20	5.99
Bank of China	6.95	6.79	6.59	6.09	6.09	6.09	6.09
China Construction Bank	7.19	7.09	6.89	6.75	6.49	6.40	6.40
Co-operative Bank	7.05	6.79	6.69	6.49	6.35	6.35	6.35
Heartland Bank		6.69	6.49	6.35	6.15
ICBC	7.05	6.85	6.65	6.49	6.39	6.29	6.29
	6.99 -0.06	6.85 -0.04	6.49 -0.20	5.99 -0.50	5.99 -0.36	5.99 -0.20	5.99 -0.20
	6.99	6.85	6.89	6.49	6.39	6.39	6.39