First home buyers to feel the most rate rise pain

The average home buyer who bought a year ago may soon have to find $250 a week to service their mortgage. (Image: Deposit Photos)

Andy Fyers

Thu, 02 Jun 2022

The average first home buyer who bought a year ago could be paying $250 a week more in interest costs if mortgage rates hit 6% next year, as forecast by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.That's according to a BusinessDesk analysis of mortgage lending data, which compares weekly repayments for recent first home buyers, with repayments at a rate of 6%.About 62,000 first home buyers dived into the market between May 2020 and April this year, driven by a fear of missing out and enabled by looser lending restrictions, as well as attractive record-...

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