Interest Rate Rise Again

While most NZers were expecting a rate cut, ANZ surprised everyone by becoming the first bank to raise its 2 years fixed home loan by 0.3%. The current rate will now be 8.3%. This move was soon quickly followed by other banks including Wespac and HSBC. With this rate increase, most Kiwis have to forked our between $10 to $450 more in fortnightly payments and according to property experts, this would encourage more people to sell their houses soon. At the same time, annual rates (property tax) have also increased by another 7% yearly across the country and owning a house can actually be quite expensive for the average Kiwi, considering their low wages and high income tax here.