The spring real estate selling season is not going to get encouragement from home loan rates as another main bank raises most fixed rates on the same day benchmark bond rates took a sharp turn up

Kiwibank has raised most of its fixed mortgage rates, all except its carded two year rate.

And it has upped its term deposit rates for terms 3, 4 and 5 years.

Their new six month carded mortgage rate is up +10 bps to 4.85%, a level below BNZ and Westpac, but above ANZ and ASB.

Its 1 year carded rate is up +20 bps to 5.15% and sits in the same relative levels with its main rivals.

It made no change to its 5.39% two year rate and that stays slightly above BNZ and Westpac's equivalent offers.

For three years fixed, their rise is +10 bps to 5.59% matching all their main rivals except ASB.

On the term deposit front, rates for three, four and five years have been raised +20 bps, +25 bps and +15 bps respectively. Unfortunately for savers, these are not term commitments that have much popularity.

All this comes on a day that benchmark bond rates in the US pushed sharply higher. Indication from our own bond markets is that we are following so wholesale swap rates are on the move higher too and maybe even more sharply than in the US. That likely means we are in for more borrowing fixed rate hikes soon.

And that won't be helped by next week's RBA rate decision which is widely expected to push higher as well. In turn, financial market bets are rising that the RBNZ will raise rates at its October review, even though in the past they themselves have said it is unlikely. Remember it is a decision that has to be made just before the election. But the recent review of the RBNZ's pandemic response criticised them for not moving fast enough when conditions changed then. A fast-moving international background probably requires prompt action, which is why those financial market bets are rising.

The spring real estate selling season is not going to get encouragement from home loan rates.

You can still get lower rates from the challenger banks, especially the Chinese ones. And banks like the SBS Bank and TSB are not so directly affected by swap rate shifts. Their cost of funds are more influenced by what they pay depositors. So for them, the reaction of their deposit base will play a key role in how they set home loan rates.

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 September 24, 2026	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
	4.79	4.99	5.45	5.49	5.59	6.39	6.49
	4.79	4.99	5.35	5.45	5.45	5.49	5.59
	4.89	5.19	5.29	5.35	5.59	5.65	5.75
Kiwibank	4.85 +0.10	5.15 +0.20		5.39	5.59 +0.10	5.79 +0.20	5.89 +0.20
	4.89	5.19	5.45	5.29	5.59	5.65	5.75
Bank of China	4.58	4.68	4.83	5.08	5.18	5.48	5.68
China Construction Bank	4.35	4.49	4.49	4.64	4.90	5.10	5.20
Co-operative Bank	4.79	4.99	5.29	5.45	5.69	5.89	5.99
ICBC	4.55	4.65	4.85	4.99	4.99	5.45	5.65
	4.79	4.99	5.29	5.44	5.44	5.49	5.49
	4.79	4.85	5.35	5.49	5.69	5.89	5.99