Banks Compete on 18-Month Home Loan Rates

Here’s a breakdown of the details from the provided‌ text:

Key Points:

* Gareth Kiernan (Infometrics chief forecaster) is discussing mortgage ⁢rate ​strategies. He’s offering advice on when and for how long homeowners shoudl fix their mortgage rates.
*⁢ Current Advice: He suggests taking a slightly higher one-year rate‍ now, then fixing for two years in late 2024 (around April 2027) when rates are predicted too be around 5.1%.
* Rate Prediction: He anticipates rates ​will begin to rise again around‌ October of this year.
* Comparison‍ of Strategies:

‌ * One-year now, then two-year fix: ‍ Estimated average rate of 4.59% over three years.
⁤ ‌ * Two 18-month fixes: Estimated average rate of 4.75%. He suggests the difference ⁢isn’t huge, but noticeable.
* Current Rate‍ Environment: Mortgage rates have fallen from ⁣a peak of over 7%.

In essence, Kiernan believes a short-term, strategic approach to fixing rates is best, capitalizing on a predicted dip before rates⁤ climb again.