Christmas has come early for mortgage holders with the RBA announcing they are holding the cash rate at 4.35%. This is the final meeting for the year with the next meeting not being held until February 2024. In other positive news the RBA will only meet 8 times in 2024 previously 11 times each year.
Many economists are still predicting that February 2024 could be the next potential opportunity for a move once the next quarterly inflation figures and other key data are released early next year. Westpac’s Chief Economist thinks there is a good chance that the next move by the RBA will be down (whenever that might be!).
The change in cash rate (which affects interest rates) is used in Monetary Policy to promote sustainable economic growth by controlling the overall supply of money in the economy. As a result it is very difficult to predict what is going to happen in the years to come with interest rates. I have gone back to articles from December 2020 which state:- The RBA has made it clear on several occasions that the cash rate won’t increase until both inflation and employment are within its target range, and that’s unlikely to occur for at least another three years. Inflation and employment bounced back sooner and faster than expected which has resulted in interest rates being raised 4.25% in the last 18 months.
It is also important to note that even if the RBA decreases interest rates that banks do not have to pass the full decrease (or any) on to their customers which we saw a lot during 2020 & 2021 when the RBA was cutting the cash rate to historical lows.
I am still talking to many clients who have not reviewed their home loans in 10 + years (with interest rates close to 8%) so I encourage everybody to review their interest rates regularly to ensure they are receiving the best possible interest rate. RateCity have said a borrower with a half-a-million-dollar loan who had not refinanced to a cheaper rate would now have paid almost $25,000 in extra interest payments over the past 20 months as a result of the rate increases.
As always, I am here to answer all your home loan and interest rate questions.
Hayley Crow | Loan Consultant | Paris Financial
(03) 8393 1009 | E: hayley@parisfinancial.com.au
Hayley Crow is a Credit Representative (CR No: 486223) of Buyers Choice Licencing Pty Ltd ACN 626 172 281 (Australian Credit Licence No: 509484)
