The Reserve Bank held the Official Cash Rate steady at 2.25% in its February 2026 Monetary Policy Statement. On its own, that means the policy rate did not move. The detail matters more if your mortgage is approaching a refix.
What "hold" actually means here
The Reserve Bank said inflation was expected to return toward the middle of its target band, while also noting that wholesale rates and longer term mortgage rates had risen. It did not promise a particular path for future OCR decisions. That means a refix decision still needs to account for uncertainty rather than assume the next move will be a cut.
The price war is the real story
While the OCR sat still, mortgage pricing did not. The February statement reported that advertised fixed rates for terms of two years and longer had increased by around 35 to 60 basis points since the previous statement, while shorter terms had moved less. Individual lender offers can still differ, so the advertised rate is only one part of a comparison.
Why this year specifically
The Reserve Bank estimated that close to 40% of fixed mortgage lending was due to refix in the first half of 2026. That is a large volume of borrowers reviewing term, repayment and lender options over a short period.
What we're telling East Auckland clients
- Compare before accepting a rollover. Check the rate, cashback conditions, break costs, fees and whether moving lender would change the structure you need.
- Compare more than one fixed term. A shorter term may provide flexibility, while a longer term may provide more repayment certainty.
- Construction loans: confirm in writing when a rate can be locked and what happens if drawdown is delayed.
- Investment property: consider structure, cash flow and serviceability alongside the headline rate.
Whether you're refixing, building, or buying your first home, the team here is running these comparisons every day. Get in touch and we'll put your numbers across the panel.
— Fei, Homelend