Katie Wesney

waiting isn't a decision it's just a deferral and it has a cost to it so what I'm hearing underneath all of it is the same thing I just want to feel like I'm on solid ground again I think people aren't necessarily expecting everything to be perfect they just want enough stability to be able to feel confident and right now that kind of feels just a little bit out of reach for lots of people

Yeah, I think it's a case of slowing down and breathing because I think when people hear that rates are going to go up, their brain kind of jumps to the worst case.

So even before we talk strategy, we often figure out, well, what would –

0.5% or 1% increase actually mean in dollar terms per fortnight per month, because often it's less than they feared.

And once they've got that kind of real number in front of them, and you can do this yourself, I think you just know what you're dealing with and anxiety drops.

And the second thing I would remind them now is...

We've already survived worse.

Very recently, the OCR is currently sitting at 2.25%.

Even with the hikes being forecast, we're not heading back to where we were two or three years ago.

when rates were significantly higher and placing lots more pressure on households.

And I think that context really matters.

And so once we've done that, then we talk about what are the levers that we have to play with to see this period out in terms of increased cash flow pressure?

Yeah, absolutely.

I think four things.

You'll be thinking about...

term length.

So how long am I going to fix for?

The shorter term rates are cheaper right now, but carry more risk if hikes come faster than expected.

And I think looking ahead, mortgage rates are expected to sit somewhere, and I don't have a crystal ball, so I do disclaim.

I'm glad Christophe got that question.