Cloudy 20° 
The reserve bank may have decided to leave interest rates on hold this week but there is no doubt that the next movement we see will be upwards. Economists are generally speculating that we’ll see a minimum 0.25% increase before the end of 2009 and many believe we’ll see a solid rise as soon as next month.
Throughout Australia the average standard variable home loan rate sits today at 5.75% so a 0.25% increase will certainly be seen as affordable by the vast majority of borrowers. There is speculation however, that by February 2011 we’ll be seeing the official cash rate reach 5.23% which on exisiting bank margins would give us a variable rate of almost 8% and meaning that the average home owner will be paying roughly $100 more than they are today off their mortgage.
Of course, all of this is fine if you’ve factored in rate rises when applying for loans or extending existing loans. Based on the speculation about at the moment, you should be counting on paying between 7.5% to 8.5% interest within the next 18 months.