Kiwis paying off loans at faster rate: Westpac
The bank says two-thirds of its customers are ahead on their mortgage repayments, a median average of $8,653, according to the bank. Westpac says customers have taken advantage of cut price rates to pay off as much of their home loans as possible.
The trend seems to be more pronounced in the south island's Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough regions, which are 20 and 15 months ahead respectively. Aucklanders are also ahead by about 9 months, or a median of $14,400.
The figures show customers are taking steps to de-risk before the OCR begins to climb. Recent guidance from the Reserve Bank indicates an OCR hike in the final months of 2020.
Simon Power, Westpac NZ's GM of consumer banking, said customers could save on their interest payments by increasing fortnightly: "If people are able to increase the amount they repay each fortnight or month by $50, $100 or even $200 when they re-fix, it can make a substantial difference to their overall interest savings.”
Click the button below to subscribe and will have free unlimited access for a limited time to full article and all other articles on the site.
You will also be able to comment on articles on Good Returns.
![[The Wrap] What the heck is happening at the FMA?](https://goodreturns.publit.io/file/c_fill,w_300,h_200/a6c3bc06-6401-44de-96e2-286c090e132d.jpg)
