Banks go into defensive mode on home loan rate offers as the winter season wraps around the housing market. Borrowers will have to sit tight and just take these levels, but those who can wait for spring will be hoping for more competitive offers then

ASB has tweaked some fixed home loan rates, essentially matching its main rivals with the new levels they have settled on.

These changes mean ASB's advantage for a 6 moth fixed rate has vanished now. Their new 18 month rate is the same as two of its main rivals.

Its three and five year fixed rates also now just match what most of what their main rivals offer.

Essentially we are back to a situation where none of these big banks are competing on price.

At the same time, ASB has cut its 2, 3 5, and 5 year term deposit rates quite hard, by between -10 bps and -25 bps. That means it no longer offers a 5% rate for a five year term.

Rates offered for TDs are also verry similar now between the main banks, with perhaps a small advantage for Westpac and their two year rate at 4.30%. 

Recent wholesale swap rates have moved down by about -15 bps from the relatively stable period between May and mid-June, to the current rates in late June. In that context, ASB's rate changes - in fact all the big bank rate changes recently - seem to reflect these wholesale rates shifts, perhaps even more so than competitive positioning.

Perhaps this isn't surprising given we are well into the winter low activity months. A more competitive stance may return when the Spring real estate season emerges in about two months.

Recently we reviewed ASB's market share performance among the main banks and you can read that review here.

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 incentives, you can use our home loan comparison calculator. You can find it here. Or, for convenience, we have added it to the bottom of this article.

Negotiate, (even with your mortgage broker). How flexible banks may be will depend on the strength of your financials.

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

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.

Here is the 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 July 1, 2026	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
	4.69	4.65	5.19	5.29	5.49	6.39	6.49
	4.69 +0.20	4.65	5.09 +0.14	5.25	5.29 -0.20	5.49 -0.20	5.59 -0.30
	4.69	4.79	5.09	5.29	5.29	5.39	5.49
Kiwibank	4.65	4.75		5.19	5.39	5.59	5.69
	4.69	4.79	5.09	5.19	5.29	5.39	5.49
Bank of China	4.38	4.58	4.68	4.88	5.18	5.48	5.68
China Construction Bank	4.40	4.49	4.49	4.54	4.90	5.10	5.20
Co-operative Bank	4.59	4.79	5.15	5.39	5.65	5.85	5.99
ICBC	4.39	4.49	4.75	4.99	5.25	5.45	5.65
	4.49	4.69	4.95	5.19	5.39	5.55	5.69
	4.69	4.79	5.19	5.25	5.59	5.89	5.99