A 4.59% two year fixed rate launched by the Wairarapa Building Society has beaten any bank to lead the spring real estate selling season. Do you want the low rate, or the cash? At present you can't get both

In a very unusual turn of events, the Wairarapa Building Society (WBS) has launched the nation's lowest two year fixed rate, of 4.59%.

We don't recall any time in the past twenty years where a non-bank has had the lowest fixed rate for a popular fixed term.

That means the institution with the lowest six month rate is now 4.98% at Bank of China

The institution with the lowest 1 year rate is ICBC with 4.55%

And the institution with the lowest two year rate is WBS at 4.59%. Almost everyone else is at 4.75% so there is a -16 bps advantage at WBS.

With the spring real estate selling season kicking off, and more volume likely in the market, this opening salvo may be a portend of intense competition in the months running up to Christmas.

Of course, it could also be WBS trying to stay competitive when banks are offering cashback deals. We don't know WBS's motivation, but it turns out 4.59% is about equivalent to 4.75% with a $3500 cashback.

To compare mortgage rate offers in a way that includes the application and account fees costs (or break fee costs if you need to do that), and applying the impact of a cashback/legal fee reimbursement/ or other incentive, you can now use our new home loan comparison calculator. You can find it here. Or, for convenience, we have added it to the bottom of this article.

We sense that the ability to achieve meaningful discounts from carded rates is now much harder, so the impact of the incentives offered are currently playing an outsized rosle. Reader-reported mortgage rates are welcome, so please record them if you have them. We need you to record them in the comment section below, which helps us stay on top of this aspect of the home loan rates market.

And still negotiate. How flexible banks may be will depend on the strength of your financials.

One useful way to make sense of the changed home loan rates is to use our full-function mortgage calculator which is below.

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, like now.

Here is the snapshot of the lowest advertised fixed-term mortgage rates on offer from the key retail banks at the moment. Update: BNZ has moved to match ANZ's 6 month rate.

Fixed, below 80% LVR	6 mths	1 yr	18 mth	2 yrs	3 yrs	4 yrs	5 yrs
as at September 1, 2025	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
ANZ	4.99	4.75	4.75	4.75	4.99	5.59	5.59
	5.04	4.75	4.75	4.75	4.99	5.29	5.49
	4.99	4.75	4.75	4.75	4.95	5.09	5.39
	5.05	4.75		4.79	5.05	5.39	5.59
	5.09	4.75	4.75	4.75	4.95	5.09	5.39
Bank of China	4.98	4.68	4.68	4.78	4.88	5.35	5.35
China Construction Bank	5.09 -0.10	4.75 -0.04	4.75 -0.04	4.75 -0.14	4.95 -0.04	5.99	5.99
Co-operative Bank (*=FHB only)	4.99	4.65*	4.75	4.75	4.99	5.39	5.49
ICBC	5.09	4.55	4.79	4.89	4.99	5.35	5.39
(*=FHB only)	5.09 -0.10	4.29* +0.30	4.75 -0.04	4.75 -0.14	4.99 -0.10	5.39	5.39
	5.09	4.75	4.99	4.75	4.99	5.39	5.49