Westpac lowering some fixed housing rates

Photo: ODT files
Photo: ODT files
Westpac says it will lower fixed housing rates across a range of terms from one year to five years.

The bank said it would decrease some fixed home loan rates from 10 to 20 basis points.

Westpac was also lowering some term deposit rates.

The bank’s term deposit rates will drop between 10 and 30 basis points on all terms between 12 months and five years.

The pricing changes take effect today.

There will be no change to six-month terms for fixed home loan rates, which are currently at 7.39 percent per annum.

The rate for two-year terms will also be unchanged, at 6.89 percent.

The biggest decrease Westpac announced today was for 18-month terms, falling 0.2 percent to 6.89 percent.

“We know this will be welcome news for customers looking to re-fix their mortgage soon,” the bank’s product, sustainability and marketing GM Sarah Hearn said.

“While we are reducing our rates, we acknowledge that customers may be re-fixing their loans from the historically low rates we have seen over recent years and may still be concerned about their increasing costs.”

Hearn said the bank would contact home loan customers who might be facing financial difficulty to ensure they had support and understood their options.

“Our data shows the vast majority of our customers are coping well with higher living costs, but we encourage them to get in touch if they have any concerns.”