Rate hurt hard to pick

IT IS difficult to tell how hard the recent interest rate rises will hit Australia’s home loan market, says Mortgage Choice WA state manager Murray Sebbes.

Since November, Australia’s official cash rate has risen by 1.25 per cent.

“There is a bit of a hiatus at the moment. People are wondering where things are going,” Mr Sebbes said.

“The lead up to the Olympics has also masked things. We can have one franchisee going great guns for a week while one nearby is very quiet.

“Everyone is waiting for a signal. We just don’t know what the signal is.”

Mr Sebbes said the Federal Government’s First Homebuyers Scheme did not seem to be having much of an effect.

St George Bank senior manager Neville Bebee said the volume of new home loan business had certainly slowed.

“There hasn’t even been a noticeable switch of people from variable homeloans to fixed home loans, which you would expect in an environment of increasing interest rates,” Mr Bebee said.