Despite a lift in the official cash rate to 4.25% at the April meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia (Bad news)  there is certainly no need for borrowers to panic.

Australia's standard variable home loan interest rates start at around 6% p.a., with fixed rates starting around 7% p.a. for 3 years, still below the long-term trend and lower than a couple of years ago.

The decision by the RBA to increase the cash rate from 4.0% to 4.25% was certainly unfortunate, as increasingly there were underlying signs of business weakness and reduced consumer confidence. 

But a strong property market is one of the stated reasons behind the lift, a situation that is providing equity gains for existing home owners (good news) that give them the potential to upgrade, as well as good potential for property investors looking to start or expand their portfolios.