New Zealand Refinance & Refix Calculator

Refixing means choosing a new rate with your current bank when a fixed term ends. It is quick, usually free, and carries no break fee. Refinancing means moving your loan to a different bank, which can involve legal and valuation costs, a break fee if you leave a fixed rate early, and often a cash contribution from the new bank. This calculator handles both: for a refix, leave the switching costs and break fee at zero.

If you exit a fixed rate before it ends, the bank charges a break fee to recover the interest it expected to earn. It roughly reflects the gap between your fixed rate and current wholesale rates over the time left on your fix, so it can be large when rates have fallen and near zero when they have risen. Banks calculate it their own way, so ask yours for a current figure and enter it here.

To win your business, a new bank often pays a cash contribution, commonly a few thousand dollars, toward your switching costs. It usually comes with a clawback condition: if you leave within a set period, often three to four years, you repay some or all of it. Factor that in if you might move again soon, and treat the contribution as reducing your upfront cost rather than as free money.

Compare the monthly saving from the lower rate against the net upfront cost, which is your switching costs plus any break fee, minus any cash contribution. The break-even figure is the number of months of saving it takes to cover that cost. If you will keep the loan well past the break-even point, switching usually pays; if you might move or repay soon, it may not.

Often, yes. Refixing or refinancing at the point your fixed rate rolls over avoids a break fee entirely, which is usually the largest cost of switching early. If you are partway through a fixed term, weigh the break fee against the saving; a large enough rate drop can still make an early switch worthwhile, but the break fee has to be worth paying.

Yes. A new bank reassesses your application, so your income, expenses, and the current loan-to-value and debt-to-income rules all apply again, and there will be a credit check. If your equity or income has changed since you first borrowed, that can affect the rate or amount on offer. This calculator focuses on the rate saving and switching costs, not the full reassessment.