Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

interest rates vary pretty widely around the world. Im guessing you might be in Europe where rates are pretty low still. In Australia they never dropped anything like they did in Europe. If you're lucky you can get a loan around 3.9% but lots of ppl are close to 5% here and you can only tax deduct it if its an investment property


Just as an example from Denmark: My parents have a house financed with a load with negative interests.


how does that work? does the bank pay them for taking their money?


The amount is very low, and I'm sure there are fees that will eat any "profit".

It's important to understand the it's not the bank that lend you the money to buy your house, at least not directly. You home is financed by bonds, issued by a sort of credit union. Investors then buy those bonds, pensions funds for instance. The Danish housing marked is extremely stable, so it's a safe place to put your money. So some investors will be willing to take a small lose on buying bonds in homes, in return for safety.


In Japan, mortgage rates are less than 1% right now for a 35-year loan.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: