ratereviews.co.nz - compare advertised vs negotiated mortgage rates

AssociatedLratereviews @ RateReviews on 12/02/2025 - 10:43
Last edited 12/02/2025 - 11:39 by 1 other user

My friends and I made this community driven website called RateReviews.co.nz to compare what banks are actually offering for mortgages instead of relying on the advertised rates or what people have been posting on facebook or whatever - all free

Here’s how it works - people post what rate they're getting (either through their banking app or through mortgage broker) and it gets updated on the website. If someone posts a lower "negotiated" rate, then that gets updated. Obviously you pick which bank and what term you have etc etc.

People who upload rates can upload verification proof (optional). Everytime a rate comes through that has verification, we verify it on our dashboard in the backend and will show a tick next to the negotiated rate if verified. There are some protections in place (someone cant post a 0% interest rate for example)

That’s it really, over time, the site will show what rates are really out there so everyone can get a better deal. We have had such good traction and feedback from the community - would be great to know what Cheapies memebers think!

If you’ve got a mortgage rate to share or just wanna check it out, give it a go! Let me know what you think, its been live a week or two now, so would be keen to know your thoughts

Cheers
Kyle from RateReviews

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Comments

  • bigcheese on 12/02/2025 - 10:57

    The very first one that comes up for SBS First Home Combo shows an advertised 1 year rate of 4.79% and a negotiated rate of 4.89%.
    I presume that's an error (or really bad negotiating skills!)

    • Associatedratereviews @ RateReviews on 12/02/2025 - 10:58

      maybe they just couldnt get the lowest rate! first home buyers tend to have higher LVR's (which SBS allows) for the firs home buyer rates, hence why maybe they could only get the 4.89%!

    • Alan6984 on 12/02/2025 - 12:32

      I presume that's an error (or really bad negotiating skills!)

      The actual rate someone gets might be higher for lots of reasons (LVR, Credit Rating, Other Security, Interest / Repayment Cover etc).

      You can't really directly compare the rates that two borrowers get without knowing everything else that might affect them as its apples and oranges.

      • bigcheese on 12/02/2025 - 12:40

        To be useful (for me) it needs context.
        Someone with a high LVR or no prior banking relationship will have far less negotiating power than someone with a strong banking relationship.
        Maybe the addition of a field to indicate value of mortgage and total dollar value of relationship would make a comparison easier?

        • Associatedratereviews @ RateReviews on 12/02/2025 - 13:32
          +1

          banking relationships unfortunately dont mean anything anymore (im not sure it ever meant anything in the first place)

          The main lever is only LVR - chances of you getting the lowest rate hinges on whether you have 20% equity in your home or not.

          But yes - we have realised that and are working on a LVR lever which shows rates for people with 80% LVR or below, or higher than 80% LVR

          Cheers,
          Kyle

          • Alan6984 on 13/02/2025 - 17:56

            @ratereviews:

            banking relationships unfortunately dont mean anything anymore (im not sure it ever meant anything in the first place)

            Banking relationships mean a lot still, just not for very many people as most consumers just don't want to pay for it - they want zero fee accounts (and credit cards) and doing everything online.

            Unless you have an actual relationship, with a bank manager (and likely with their support team), you are just a transactional customer to a bank. To have a bank manager, you really need to be a business customer, which usually means a more complex and comprehensive relationship than a bog-standard current account, savings account, KiwiSaver (perhaps), credit card, and a mortgage, all of which are low margin products for the bank, extremely simple for consumers to handle themselves, and won't generally warrant having a manager work with you.

            Even at the bottom end (of business), a single manager (team) likely looks after quite a few accounts (certainly scores, probably over a hundred), so you still won't have much of a relationship unless you are using a lot of services, such as forex accounts, payment processing, new / additional loans (such as for acquisitions) every year or so etc.

            • Associatedratereviews @ RateReviews on 14/02/2025 - 16:38

              @Alan6984: yeah so in other words - 99% people getting mortgages are just a number to the bank

              • Alan6984 on 14/02/2025 - 17:28

                @ratereviews: There are lot more than 1% of the market that fall into the category of being a business owner. I don't know that the latest figures are, but not too long ago (within the last ten years at least), StatsNZ was quoting that more than 10% of the population are 'business owners'.

                However, rather than getting into an argument about broad-brush statements of '99%' and such like, I suggest focusing on making the site actually useful, beyond what people can already get from the FaceBook groups that you used, and to do that, it really needs to add in a lot more nuance.

                I understand that you've put in some effort (good on ya!), and it is hard to then face having to revamp it, but I think the site could actually be useful if you expand it some. I really hope that you can!

                If you are feeling a bit put off (or puffed out), then perhaps just focus on making one improvement, and get the LVR info included in the next week or so. That should be really easy to add, should require next to no 'programming' effort, and is likely the biggest gain, as it is often the biggest factor in the actual rates offered to borrowers.

                Once you have that in place, then I suggest incorporating credit ratings, as that is also a very significant factor in many lending decisions.

                Other factors can be added later, but those two will make the tool much more relevant.

                • Associatedratereviews @ RateReviews on 15/02/2025 - 18:48

                  @Alan6984: we're working on an LVR toggle now! thank you for your input

                  • Alan6984 on 15/02/2025 - 22:54

                    @ratereviews:

                    we're working on an LVR toggle now

                    Cool, but I suggest not just having a 'toggle', which is effectively deciding for users what they must use, but rather allow them to enter their own LVR (free form - any percentage they like).

                    You can then offer users the option to filter by a range of LVRs by entering a lower and upper bound, and you return results in that range. Don't fall into the 'engineers trap' of pre-deciding the ranges for them - you will reduce the usefulness without gaining anything much in terms of simplifying the programming.

                    • Associatedratereviews @ RateReviews on 16/02/2025 - 15:49

                      @Alan6984: i dont agree - people tend to know whether they fall into above 80% or below 80% lvr - people that derive value from the site will also know that they will get higher mortgages if you have a higher than 80% lvr and get good rates if you have lower than 80% lvr

                      • Alan6984 on 16/02/2025 - 18:38

                        @ratereviews: You'll get a better rate at an LVR of 35% than 75%, but your site will just show a single result.

                        Lazy approach - you can be better.

                        • Associatedratereviews @ RateReviews on 16/02/2025 - 20:17

                          @Alan6984: yeah see thats the thing - i have 70% lvr, my boss has a $5m house in Herne bay which he only owes 800k on - we both at ASB, we both have the same rates. most definitely not a lazy approach, its just facts

                          I worked at a firm that managed over $2b in real estate and commercial property. One property we managed, they had $1m owing on it and they bought it in the 2000's. They stopped getting a valuation on it because it was pointless, clearly the LVR was so low. Guess what, no preferential treatment

                          Please give me proof that 35% LVR loans get better rates than 75%

                          • Alan6984 on 16/02/2025 - 23:20

                            @ratereviews: It definitely happens, but I agree that not everyone is a good enough negotiator, or perhaps just can't be bothered for what might be a small amount to them. How could I possible prove it for you though? I can't disclose confidential client information, and even if I posted that A got this rate with an LVR of 35%, and B got that rate with an LVR of 75%, it would just be words posted here - I could make it all up, and you probably wouldn't believe it, plus one specific example means nothing at all.

                            There is practically no downside to allowing users to enter the actual LVR (the programming is insignificant).

                            All I am saying is that you have the option to be better, and I am encouraging you to be so - whether it's important to you or not to be as good as you can be is your call.

  • FiveFeetUnder on 12/02/2025 - 10:59
    +1

    Interest.co.nz has reader-reported rates every time they do an article on a Bank changing their mortgage rates.
    The NZ Mortgage Rates Facebook page is also useful

  • alanimal on 13/02/2025 - 15:33

    Tried to get ASB to match the Westpac 4.99% 3 yr rate but no. :(

    • Associatedratereviews @ RateReviews on 13/02/2025 - 15:38

      not financial advice!!!! asb doing pretty good 18 month rates

  • preciousbeings on 03/03/2025 - 10:52

    ratereviews.co.nz is NOT secure
    ratereviews.co.nz doesn’t support a secure connection
    Attackers can see and change information you send or receive from the site.
    It's safest to visit this site later if you're using a public network. There is less risk from a trusted network, like your home or work Wi-Fi.
    You might also contact the site owner and suggest they upgrade to HTTPS.

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