Cairns Lockie Mortgage Commentary

Issue 2000/10 2 June 2000

Welcome to the tenth issue of the Cairns Lockie Mortgage Commentary for 2000. This is a fortnightly electronic newsletter which aims to keep you informed on developments at Cairns Lockie, Mortgage Bankers and the mortgage market in general. Previous issues of this commentary can be found on our website http://www.emortgage.co.nz

The Money Market

This morning (9 am on 2 June) the money markets were at the following levels:

Official cash rate 6.50% (unchanged from 19 May) 90 day bill rate 6.95 (up from 6.90) 1 year swap rate 7.36 (up from 7.32) 3 year swap rate 7.64 (down from 7.80) 10 year bond rate 6.90 (down from 7.16) Kiwi dollar 0.4575 (up from 0.4504)

Welcome to Paul Lange

This week Paul Lange joined the lending team here at Cairns Lockie. Paul has a background in banking including lending and credit roles with United Bank, Countrywide Bank and the National Bank. Paul's email address is mailto:plange@emortgage.co.nz.

Westpac Tells You How to Save Money on Your Mortgage

In its latest (dreadful) advertising, the Westpac tells you how to save money on your mortgage. The two obvious ways that Westpac can save you money are to

a) reduce their mortgage rate b) reduce their fees

As this is unlikely to happen, if you really want to save money on your mortgage all you have to do is refinance with us. Since opening for business our mortgage rates have averaged nearly three quarters of a percent below the trading banks. We do not charge any ongoing fees and we are one of the last institutions to put up our rates.

House Prices in Sydney

Our papers recently have reported stagnant house prices with some commentators blaming higher mortgage rates. However across the Tasman in Sydney, mortgage rates have also risen and house prices have continued to appreciate. For the year ending March 2000 house prices in Sydney increased on average by 9.3% according to a recent article Australian Financial Review. The higher priced suburbs such as Mosman or areas close to the city such as Auburn and Stratfield have even seen higher appreciation. Analysts in Sydney think the growth will slow over the next year but the outlook for house price growth is still considered good.

Further Advantages in Dealing with a Non Bank

Last Saturday's Herald had the first of a three part series on banks, looking in particular at the effects of bank closures and the decline in personal service levels. Many individuals complain that when they ring their bank, they only get an answerphone and when they get through to a real person they seem disinterested. At Cairns Lockie we can guarantee

1) If you ring us during business hours, either Kerry or Madaline will greet you. Outside business hours your call will come directly through to our office 2) All our clients are assigned Account Managers who will take an interest in your personal business. 3) Telephone calls and emails are responded to quickly. 4) We welcome our clients coming to visit us.

Our Website Traffic Continues to Grow

In May the number of people visiting our site increased by 18% on the previous month, with page hits increasing by 23%. This is a continuation of the growth we have experienced over the last year or so. If after reviewing our site (at http://www.emortgage.co.nz) you have any suggestions on how we can improve it, pleases let us know. We would appreciate your comments.

Our current interest rates are as follows

Variable rate 7.65% Two-year fixed rate 8.55 Three-year fixed rate 8.75 Five-year fixed rate 8.90 Line of credit facility 8.00

Regards William Cairns James Lockie

Cairns Lockie Limited PO Box 74-212, Market Road, Auckland Telephone (09) 525 9711 Facsimile (09) 579 7795 Website http://www.emortgage.co.nz Email mailto:wcairns@emortgage.co.nz mailto:jlockie@emortgage.co.nz mailto:gslade@emortgage.co.nz mailto:sgasson@emortgage.co.nz mailto:pblain@emortgage.co.nz mailto:plange@emortgage.co.nz

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