– Fixed-rate loans are much easier, because then you always have something to start from. And you then get to say the same bill every month, says Jasmin Øverland. She has a combination of fixed interest and floating interest on her home loan. – With floating interest, you always have uncertainty about what you will pay each month, says Øverland. Jasmin Øverland would like the rent to be lower so that it would be easier for single people and those with uncertain finances to get into the housing market. Photo: Berit Helle Jonsbråten / news Tonje Braut, on the other hand, has a floating interest rate. She says the agreement had to be particularly good for her to switch to a fixed rate. – Interest rates rise and fall, and fixed interest rates are often slightly higher to take account of variations in the market. So I probably wouldn’t have switched to fixed interest. Tomas Nordbø has chosen to have a fixed interest rate on around half of his home loan. He is finance director at Rogaland Sparebank. What is interest? Interest is the price you pay to borrow money from the bank. Fixed interest means that you lock it in at a set level for either 3, 5 or 10 years. You then waive the higher interest rate in the event of any interest rate increases, but you also stand firm if it were to fall. The Central Bank, i.e. Norway’s Bank, is the bank of all other banks. When Norges Bank sets the policy rate up or down, it has a lot to say about what the banks decide to do with their interest rates. A floating interest rate is an interest rate that follows the bank in ups and downs. Source: DNB Banken notices that more and more people want to fix the interest rate. – We have received many inquiries about fixed interest rates. That’s because the difference to floating interest is over 1 percentage point, he says. And several other banks have it the same way. DNB, which lowered the fixed interest rate on Wednesday, has noticed a sharp increase since this summer. In Nordea, there are seven times as many this week compared to the average earlier this year. In SpareBank 1 SR-Bank, there are three times as many tied rents in August as 2024 seen under one. Handelsbanken and Sbanken have also noticed increased interest. Do you have a fixed or floating interest rate? I have chosen fixed interest. I have floating interest. I don’t have a home loan. Show result Tenfold increase in inquiries In the last week of August, 100 people contacted Rogaland Sparebank to check the fixed interest rate offer. The week before, the number was ten. So there was a tenfold increase in inquiries. Last month, there were four times as many people who chose to tie the interest rate. Five people the month before and 20 people this month. Fixed interest rates on housing loans in several banks are now cheaper than floating interest rates. – You get an immediate lower interest cost with a fixed interest rate as the market is now, but neither we nor the customers know how the interest rate will change over time, says Nordbø. Tomas Nordbø, CFO of Rogaland Sparebank, himself has a fixed interest rate on half the home loan. Photo: Rogaland Sparebank DNB: – Demand exploded He points out that Norges Bank predicts that interest rates will fall in January, but that they have changed their minds often in the past year. – I think it may take a little longer. Preferably towards spring and summer. Inflation is still a little high and the exchange rate is weak. DNB has also increased demand. – Demand exploded after the summer. The share has mostly remained stable every month until now this summer, where we have seen a sharp increase in interest in fixed-rate loans, says Terje Fanebust, regional bank manager for Rogaland and Agder at DNB. He points out that it is worth noting that there is an increase from a very low level. And even if the price of fixed interest rates goes up, the vast majority still have floating interest rates on their home loans. Terje Fanebust, regional bank manager Sørvest, believes it is natural that more people want fixed interest rates now. Photo: DNB – I think most experts agree that interest rates should fall, but the uncertainty lies in when and to what level. For customers who want predictability and lower loan costs already, this can be a good opportunity to lock in the interest rate. What actually pays off over time? Nordbø in Rogaland Sparebank believes that we in Norway have a hard-wired reflex that floating interest rates are the best. – It is a bit uncertain what the answer will be over time. It is the case in Norway that floating interest rates are the cheapest over time. But there is something about having to tolerate the fluctuations when you don’t know what the fluctuations are. So especially those with tight finances have the advantage of having a predictable payment. On Wednesday, the key interest rate from Norges Bank is 4.5 per cent. – You shouldn’t get a fixed interest rate because you think the interest rate will go up or down. One must enter into a fixed rate in order to have predictability in the weekday. Then you know what the home loan will cost in the next three or five years, says Nordbø. Published 18.09.2024, at 22.24
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Rogaland Sparebank has ten times as many inquiries about fixed interest – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
