Average Mortgage Rates

The data is from the Reserve Bank. It shows average effective mortgage rates under Labour and National.

They’re now around 3% lower than they were under Labour. What sort of difference does that make?

The median house price is $540,000 so an 80% mortgage on that is $432,000.

If you have a 25 year mortgage, the difference between 5% and 8% is this:

• 5% = $582 a week
• 8% = $769 a week

So a family with a median mortgage is $187 a week better off.

And while Government policies are only one factor in interest rates, they definitely do contribute. The more inflationary the policies the higher interest rates go. The more spending there is, the higher interest rates go.