Nearly two-thirds of Westpac NZ home loan customers living in Bay of Plenty are ahead in their mortgage payments, making the most of low interest rates, according to new data.

The Bay of Plenty customers are ahead by a median of $7,222 or seven months of payments. Auckland was the furthest ahead on $14, 456 or nine months, followed by Wellington on $13,082 or 13 months, and Nelson on $12,145 or 20 months.

Westpac NZ's general manager of consumer banking and wealth, Simon Power, says the bank is keen to support more customers to pay off their loans more quickly, as doing so could save them tens of thousands of dollars in interest payments over the lifetime of the mortgage.

'Westpac's mission is to help our customers financially, to grow a better New Zealand. One of the clearest ways we can do that is to support our customers to save more by paying off their debt faster.

'And with many mortgage rates falling, in the past two weeks, to historic lows, it's a great time for customers to get ahead by holding their repayments at the same level at which they have been paying.”

He says many people have been making the most of low interest rates over the past few years, which reflected a good economy.

Simon says half of the regions had managed to increase the median number of weeks or months they were ahead when compared to last year's figures.

'If people are able to increase the amount they repay each fortnight or month by $50, $100 or even $200 when they re-fix, it can make a substantial difference to their overall interest savings.”

Simon has the example of someone paying off a $500,000 mortgage over 30 years at an interest rate of 4.79 per cent.

'If that customer pays the minimum $1,209 per fortnight it would take 30 years to pay off and cost just over $440,000 in interest.

'But if they can manage to pay off an extra $150 a fortnight, they could shave six years off the mortgage and reduce their total interest paid by more than $106,000. That's a significant saving and a path to greater financial freedom.”

He says the bank has many tips to help people pay off their home loan faster and save money.

'It can be as simple as changing your repayments to fortnightly instead of monthly. You end up making two extra repayments per year, which reduces the amount owed and the interest paid.

'People could also consider increasing their regular loan repayments, shortening the term of their loan, and consider paying lump sums off their loans when it comes time to re-fix. Also, choosing to float a portion of their loan allows them the flexibility to pay off that part of their loan faster.

'Interest rates have fallen recently, so now is an excellent time to pay down some extra debt if you are re-fixing, as well as keeping your monthly repayments the same despite interest rates dropping, in order to pay off your loan faster.”