There was divergent actions taken by big banks in Australia and New Zealand recently with regards to their mortgage rates.  ANZ out of Australia lifted its rates 10 basis points to 9.47% and it seems likely that rates will continue to rise at the bank through this quarter.  Kiwibank of New Zealand on the other hand lowered rates to 9.29%.

A lot of my fellow real estate investors have investments abroad, which is why I sometimes keep in touch with international rates.  I’ve found that following currency and international rates can make you a significantly better mortgage consumer here in the US and it is something that I recommend all real estate investors or anyone whose livelihood is closely tied to managing interest rate risk.