When asked what they did with the financing of their mortgage after the last interest rate cut, over half of the people surveyed said they kept their payments the same, taking advantage of the rate cut to pay more off their mortgage.

Wizard said recent rate reductions of 50 basis points and a further cut of 25 basis points last Thursday, means borrowers with an average loan of $200,000 (over 25 years) will have reduced their interest bill by a total of more than $96 a month. If they retain their pre-cut monthly payments they could save more than $36,800 in interest and take 44 months off the term of their loan.

Wizard New Zealand boss John Grant says that it's encouraging to see that messages about paying-off your mortgage sooner to save money over time seem to be finally getting through.

"Those keenest to pay-off their mortgage sooner were aged over 40 years. Those most likely to lower their repayments were the single and those aged 30 to 34. One in four were restricted by a fixed rate loan," Grant says. The survey also showed some movement away from fixed rates, with 69% saying they would like to put at least some of their mortgage onto floating rates.

"Current statistics tell us that borrowers’ average split is 60% on fixed and 40% on floating rates. I’m pleased to see in our near inflation-free economy, a slight move towards floating rates. While the major banks are encouraging longer-term mortgage arrangements, Wizard bucks the trend by encouraging borrowers towards floating rates," Grant says.

The survey also revealed that people in the highest income levels were more likely to put most of their mortgage on fixed rate. Those most likely to put their entire mortgage on a floating rate were the middle income levels, while those more likely to put it all on fixed for two years or more were in the lower income levels.