The Reserve Bank recently increased official interest rates by 0.25 percentage points and has signalled more rate rises are on the way. But don’t panic. Instead, fight back.

How? By refinancing to a comparable home loan with a lower interest rate.

The big four banks have forecast that the Reserve Bank will begin lifting official interest rates from June. If and when that happens, lenders will almost certainly increase their home loan rates.

Most mortgage holders will be able to cope if and when interest rates start rising.

That’s one of the findings from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) latest half-yearly Financial Stability Review.

National residential construction costs increased 9.0% over the 12 months to March 2022, according to CoreLogic’s Cordell Construction Cost Index.

That was the highest annual growth rate on record apart from the introduction of the GST in 2001, and means Australians are having to pay more money to build or buy new homes.

The federal government has expanded its support to first home buyers and single parents, and has also released a new program for regional buyers.