Lenders Slow In Slashing Mortgage Rates Despite Cuts

New Zealand Finance minister said today that the banks are slow in slashing mortgage rates. Finance Minister Bill English is quoted in New Zealand Herald using the phrase "fairly slow" indicating the government is not satisfied with how the mortgage rates in New Zealand are coming down.

Banks say that the current mortgage rates are the reflection of the borrowing costs. Yesterday two small bank cut their mortgage rates by .50 bases points challenging countries largest four banks owned by Australia. The drastic mortgage rate cut is in the wake of the expected Australian Reserve bank's interest rate cut today. The Reserve Bank of Australia acted and left the interest rates at 3 percent, which was no surprise to analysts.

English continues saying that while the banks argue the mortgage rates are the reflection of borrowing cost they will keep an eye on it and the Reserve Bank will keep an eye on it as well. ""We want to see the benefits of the low cash rate pass through to people with mortgages because that will help underpin the economy and underpin jobs."

In the United States government has acted very swiftly in putting forward home affordability programs that help the current homeowners and first time house buyers to take advantage of historically low mortgage rates and refinance their mortgages.

Here are some of those programs:

• Making Home Affordable

• Hope For Homeowners

• Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

These plans are in place to help to prevent foreclosures and help responsible homeowners to refinance mortgage, thus taking advantage of all time low mortgage rates. This, in turn, should bring hope and stabilization to housing and real estate markets.