Rich Harvey

not just going to be 1.25% rise.

We know that the cash rate is currently at 0.85%.

It's probably going to go to 2% or 2.5%.

So you've got to factor in what does that mean for you?

You might need to look at what are you currently paying on your mortgage rates?

Is it time to look at extracting some equity and potentially look at investing again?

Is it better to look around and change lenders?

I think the other thing to look at is that the Reserve Bank, even though they've increased interest rates, when that's happening, we're actually seeing fixed rates rising quite dramatically.

But the variable rates have actually been cut and very, very competitive amongst the lenders.

So it's actually a really good time to think about refinancing and talking to a broker about that.

Well, the thing is, if you wait too long to apply for a loan when interest rates have had their full, you know, rising cycle, you know, so currently you should be able to get a variable rate around 2.5, a discounted variable rate around about 2.5, 2.75%.

Now, I think the mortgage rates, not the cash rate, but the mortgage rates will probably end up around 4.5%, something like that.

So if you wait until that happens, you could actually be priced out of the market in terms of your borrowing capacity.

So some modelling I've seen done by some great brokers suggests that for every 1% rise in interest rates, it's going to reduce your borrowing capacity by up to 10%.

And that could just put your property dreams even further out of reach.

So I think the current run of interest rates will level out, I reckon, at some point in the next 12 months.

And then there'll be a turn in consumer sentiment again.

At the moment, there's negative consumer sentiment.

You're seeing buyers just sitting on their hands, doing nothing, vendors saying, I'm not selling.

But the trick to being a smart investor, Craig, or a smart buyer is to get ahead of the pack.