Norwegian Homeowners Urged to Negotiate Lower Mortgage Rates Following Central Bank Cut
OSLO – Norwegian homeowners are being advised to immediately contact their banks to renegotiate mortgage rates following a recent cut by Norges Bank, the country’s central bank. The Consumer Organization Homeowners is urging swift action, emphasizing potential savings for borrowers.
Norges Bank lowered interest rates, a move welcomed by many Norwegians facing mortgage debt. Currently, mortgage rates exceed 6% for numerous borrowers, but the rate reduction is expected to bring many into the 5% range, with some potentially seeing rates fall into the 4% bracket.
“Contact the bank as soon as the interest rate is reduced to reduce your own interest rate,” says Carsten Henrik Pihl, head of politics, society and sustainability at the Consumer Organization Homeowners. ”Banks can wait two months to reduce interest rates for existing customers, but ask for a reduction right away! Alternatively, one must consider switching banking.”
Pihl highlights meaningful discrepancies in rates offered by different banks. A reduction of just half a percentage point could save a homeowner with a 3 million NOK mortgage over 10,000 NOK annually.
While the initial cut has been made, Central Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache indicated further cuts may be slower than previously anticipated. “The job of overcoming price growth has not been completed, but by operating gently on the brake, we make arrangements for price growth to return to the inflation target without slowing down the economy more than necessary,” Bache stated in a press release. She also noted that recent economic data suggests price growth may remain elevated for longer than initially forecast, potentially slowing the pace of future rate reductions. “Thus, we probably will not put the interest rate down as quickly as we imagined before the summer,” the governor said.
