Hi [salutation],

Its been a relatively quiet past month although the homeloan market remains as competitive as ever. The key theme at present is the direction of fixed rates... 

With little if any chance of a drop in the OCR before the last quarter of this year most attention has been focused on the comings and goings in the fixed rate market. Since April the trend has been slightly upward on the back of some better than expected economic data out of the US and rising interest rates generally around the world.  If we accept that the next few months will see these rates continue to rise, as is the commonly accepted view, then if you are considering re fixing or refinancing, sooner is better than later. That said the isuue now becomes which of the 1- 5 year rates represents the best value. On an historic basis short term rates (1-3 years) are slightly above their long term average, whilst longer term rates are slightly below. On this basis the 4-5 year rates look reasonable value although to be fair nothing really screams out at me at present. So, what would I do? I would look to put 30% of my lending out at 5 years, where things look slightly cheapish, and split the balance between 2-3 years. With regards floating rates there is absolutely no good reason why you should be floating unless you require the flexibility. Even then with rates likely to rise you should consider getting some short term 6 month- 1 year cover on board, with the view that you can always break this at no penalty if rates do what they are supposed to and go higher over the short term. Before you do so give us a call on 0800 800 067 and take advantage of some free advice that could save you a few thousand dollars.

Anyone else noticed that the banks have stopped beating each other up over our homeloans and are getting stuck into each other over credit cards instead? I regard credit cards a bit like virus's- theres no such thing as a good one, but some are less bad for you than others. What is good for you however is to have a look at your overall debt position and see if you can tidy it up a bit. If you still have last years Christmas presents sitting on your credit card now is the time to get it off and you should probably lump your car payments and anything else you may have in as well. Given mortgage rates are at least 1/2 the price of your other debt you will definitely save yourself a few hundred bucks a month and a reasonable amount of mucking around. Give us a call on 0800 800 067, ask for onre of our Advisers and be sure to tell them to lean (hard) on your lender at the same time...

Over the past month we have launched what I believe is the best referrer rewards program in the country, so if you havent had a look yet follow the link above and check it out!
In a nutshell its our way of making sure the people who look after us get looked after. We have over 1400 different rewards that members can choose from (including cash!) and up until 1st September any member who refers us 5 settled deals will get a trip for two, with two nights accomodation to Sydney! Also up for grabs are tickets to Corporate Hospitality events at the Bledisloe Cup and Air New Zealand Fashion Week.
So, if you are keen on building a referral relationship with us, or know someone who might be,  click on My Rewards

If you are looking for a reason why you should use APM then here it is:
The APM Mortgage Guarantee
We will guarantee you the best deal in the market, or we will better the difference for the first 12 months!
The APM Service Guarantee
If you are not happy completely happy we will pay you $500!

It couldn't be simpler than that. What do you have to loose? If we don't get you the best deal we'll better the difference (YOU WIN) and we'll give you $500 (YOU WIN AGAIN). You'd have to be mad not to use us!

Anyone out there who has yet to register for our Mortgage Monitor program is welcome to do so now- free of charge! Thats right, for the month of May we are offering Mortgage Monitor FREE! The way it works is pretty easy- you ring us on 0800 800 067 and give us your mortgage details (if you have your homeloan with us you will already be registered). We will assign you an Adviser and enter you into our Mortgage Manager software program which will track your homeloan, advising you when you need to think about re fixing, and what the best options are for you. Its easy, its FREE, and it will save you alot of hassell. It will also save you hundreds of dollars a year. Be quick...

Call us today on 0800 800 067

This Issues Links

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Mortgage Navigator^TM

Property Evaluation

12 Mortgage Busting Strategies

Home Buyers Guide