Carefully check mortgage costs: Crossan

"Many people could save tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the setup and repayment options they chose," she says.

"This year, just over 40% of fixed-rate mortgages are estimated to run out and so Kiwis should be searching out the best deal for their circumstances."

"People need to consider not only any short term sweeteners offered by mortgage lenders but the long term costs. Too many people with mortgages just consider the cost of the deposit and regular repayments. They neglect to first calculate how much they could save by increasing the level of repayments or frequency of repayments. In many cases even increases of relatively small amounts can make a huge difference."

Crossan said people could make significant savings if they could afford to pay off their mortgage more quickly. And the earlier the mortgage was paid off, the sooner people could start to build a nest egg to give them income when they chose to retire or work less hours.