More homeowners are choosing to put extra money on their mortgage.
More than two thirds of home loan customers were ahead on their monthly mortgage repayments at the end of 2021, Westpac says. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Westpac NZ data indicates households with mortgages were better positioned than a year ago, as more paid down their mortgages.
Westpac says more than two thirds of home loan customers (68.1 percent) were ahead on monthly mortgage repayments at the end of 2021, compared with 65.9 percent at the end of 2020.
"Building up a savings or mortgage repayment buffer is a good way to help manage disruptions to the economy or changes to your own personal circumstances," Westpac general manager of consumer banking and wealth Ian Hankins said.
The total average number of months ahead in repayments was 10.5 months, increasing the collective mortgage "buffer" for Westpac NZ customers by $637 million.
Wellington region was in the best overall repayment position with three-quarters of homeowners (75.2 percent) ahead on repayments by an average amount of $18,251, or the equivalent of 19 months.
However, every region improved the proportion of customers ahead of their repayments in the 12-month period.
In Auckland, which had the largest average home loan size, customers were an average of $16,188 ahead on their repayments, which was the equivalent of nine months.
Hankins said customers needed to be at least three months ahead in their repayments to be included in this data.
"This means the true number of customers ahead of their repayments may be even higher, as there will be some who are one or two months ahead, who we haven't included in this analysis."