Rates Tipped To Stay Down

The Reserve Bank has kept the official interest rate at a record low 1.5% for the 22nd straight month and observers are questioning whether the RBA will move at all this year.

Borrowers can relax at the news that any rise to the official rate "may still be months away", according to RateCity spokeswoman Sally Tindall, and mortgage broker network 1300HomeLoan managing director John Kolenda says the RBA is now in uncharted territory. "With the vast amount of pressure being applied to the banks as a consequence of the Hayne Royal Commission, we are more than likely to see rates on hold for a considerable time," he says.

Kolenda says borrowers should take advantage of heavy discounting on owner-occupied and principal and interest loans from the majors trying to secure lending volumes. "This translates into thousands of dollars in savings.".

Tindall says the record run of a low cash rate target was also strengthening the case for fixed rates, with some locked in for as long as a decade.