{"id":108984,"date":"2026-02-03T10:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T23:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=108984"},"modified":"2026-02-02T21:07:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T10:07:51","slug":"mortgage-could-cost-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/mortgage-could-cost-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Homeowners Warned: Your Mortgage Could Cost You Hundreds More Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Mortgage stress is back on the rise, and this time it\u2019s not creeping. With another rate decision looming, borrowers across Australia are bracing for impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mortgage Costs Could Jump With the Next Rate Move<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you were planning to lock in a mortgage under 5%, you might already be too late. With the Reserve Bank of Australia (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rba.gov.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RBA<\/a>) expected to lift the cash rate to 3.85%, lenders are quickly adjusting. According to Canstar, only six lenders now offer fixed rates below that threshold \u2014 and even those could vanish overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A modest-sounding 0.25% increase might not seem like much, but for a $1 million mortgage, it translates to around $150 more per month, or $1,800 a year. For families already stretched thin, that\u2019s not spare change \u2014 it\u2019s groceries, petrol, or school fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone wp-image-106135 size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"727\" src=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/rba-1200x727.jpg\" alt=\"Mortgage\" class=\"wp-image-106135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/rba-1200x727.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/rba-380x230.jpg 380w, https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/rba-520x315.jpg 520w, https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/rba-1536x931.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/rba.jpg 1980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Facade of an RBA building<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From Rate Cuts to Rate Hikes: What Just Happened?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Not long ago, the market was predicting rate cuts. Two of them, in fact. Now? Two increases by the end of 2026. The shift has been abrupt. Rising inflation has forced both the RBA and lenders to rethink \u2014 and act fast, explains<a href=\"https:\/\/au.finance.yahoo.com\/news\/mortgage-holders-brace-hundreds-more-060402099.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Yahoo Finance.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the RBA\u2019s last meeting in December, more than 60 lenders have already bumped up at least one of their fixed rates. It\u2019s not panic, exactly \u2014 but it\u2019s clearly a reaction to changing expectations. The window to grab a \u201ccheap\u201d loan may have officially closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud835\ude4d\ud835\ude40\ud835\ude3c\ud835\ude3f: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8EJmf8YOJC\">https:\/\/t.co\/8EJmf8YOJC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/arAI4YH7Jy\">pic.twitter.com\/arAI4YH7Jy<\/a><\/p>&mdash; The Nightly (@thenightlyau) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thenightlyau\/status\/2018224817762095135?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">February 2, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is a Hike Inevitable?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Not everyone is convinced it\u2019s a done deal. Luci Ellis, chief economist at Westpac and former assistant governor at the RBA, has suggested the board might wait. Inflation data, while still high, isn\u2019t moving further from target \u2014 and the new monthly measures from the ABS have added noise to the numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Paul Bloxham, chief economist at HSBC, says the RBA should have held <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/interest-rates-back-in-focus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rates<\/a> higher for longer. He argues the bank made two flawed assumptions: that productivity growth would cushion inflation, and that government spending wouldn\u2019t blow out. But spending did blow out \u2014 by 1.7% of GDP more than forecast, according to December\u2019s fiscal update.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What It Means for Everyday Borrowers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For Australians with mortgages, it\u2019s another layer of uncertainty. The cost of living is already biting hard, and many are juggling bills, groceries, childcare, and now \u2014 potentially \u2014 hundreds more in monthly repayments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no crisis yet. But there\u2019s tension. And with the next rate decision just days away, the message for borrowers is clear: act fast or brace for more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mortgage uncertainty grows as another shift looms. For many, the wait feels longer\u2014and the stakes feel higher\u2014with every passing day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":108985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108984"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108986,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108984\/revisions\/108986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}