Sue Tierney: Mortgage Broker on Westpac raising its 2-5 year fixed rates by 30 basis points

A mortgage broker is saying not to panic about rising mortgage rates.  

Westpac has announced a 30 basis point increase to its 2-5 year fixed rates. 

They claim the move reflects rising wholesale rates and higher costs for long-term funding.  

Sue Tierney told Heather du Plessis-Allan that people do have the opportunity to negotiate rates. 

She says the bank has an advertised rate, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept it. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
First of the big banks has broken the trend, and
well the downward trend anyway, now lifted its mortgage rates,
and by quite a decent amount. Westpac has announced a
thirty basis point increase to its fixed year fixed rates
of two to five years. Sue Tierney is a mortgage
broker with Sue turning mortgages and is with us Morning.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Sue, Good morning, Heather.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Do you expect the others to do the same?

Speaker 3 (00:22):
I absolutely Westpac has been leading the way with their
five year rate anyway, so I don't imagine that they
will change their five year rates because the other banks
have been higher, but I certainly expect it for the two,
three and four year rates.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Does that mean, Sue, then, for anybody you know, at
least with Westpac now and anybody else who hasn't yet
managed to come off their rate and fix at the
low rates, they've kind of missed that party.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
Not necessarily because it is possible to break the rate,
of course, and as we saw earlier in the year,
Westpac was offering a five four point nine to nine
rates for five years for a short while. The other
banks didn't come to the party, so they dropped it.
But then again in October they.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Brought it back. So in the more good rate world,
anything can happen.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
Now, is there a chance? I mean, it's been pointed
out by Andrew Calla who was on earlier, that the
Reserve Bank is itself not going to talk about the
stuff until February, so we might be stuck with this
happening with the wholesale rates for another couple of months.
Is it possible that the Reserve Bank governor the new one,
if she talks this morning, may be able to undo
what's going on in the wholesale market.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
I believe that's certainly possible because a lot of it
is generated by perception and what is expected, so that
is quite possible. I think the key to remember here, though,
is that people do have the opportunity to negotiate rates.
So the bank has an advertised rate, but that doesn't
necessarily mean that you need to accept it. And from

(01:51):
my experience, this is really only going to be huging
the people over eighty percent where it's less negotiable. So
anybody was funding that is less than eighty percent of
the house value, I wouldn't be panicking so much because
you've certainly got opportunities to negotiate.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
How much are they prepared to move.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
As in the negotiated rate sometimes aero point three percent
of what they're offering right now online or advertised rates.
So if you're seeing five point two nine, it's quite
feasible to still get a four.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
Point nine to nine rates. If so, if you've got
less and eighty things, what.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
I'm taking from you is suit don't panic.

Speaker 3 (02:33):
Absolutely, it's disappointing just at Christmas time.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
It really is that. Don't panic.

Speaker 3 (02:38):
And certainly if your loane doesn't mature till later next.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
Year, I would be doing nothing. I wouldn't be worrying.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Hey, that's FANTASTICOD bye, thank you very much. Sue suit
to you, any of mortgage broker with suit to you
any mortgages. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen
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