How Interest Rates Impact Your Mortgage in Australia

overview.

What interest rates really are, and how they move your mortgage. Dad explains how the Reserve Bank's cash rate reaches your repayments, why rates rise, and how to think about fixed versus variable as a first home buyer.

Dad — John Kefalianos, finance broker and property developer — explains interest rates the way he does for first home buyers: plainly, no jargon.

"Fixed or variable is not about predicting rates. It is about knowing which kind of certainty you actually need."

John Kefalianos

what you'll learn.

• How the RBA cash rate flows through to your repayments
• Why rates rise, and what inflation has to do with it
• Fixed versus variable, and when each makes sense
• How the buffer rate quietly shapes what you can borrow

Prefer to read? Grab the free first home buyer guides.

part of: home loans guide.

chapters.

Tap a chapter to jump the video to that point.

1. 00:05 Introduction
2. 00:37 What Are Interest Rates?
3. 01:17 Impact of Interest Rates on Mortgages
4. 02:13 Why Do Interest Rates Increase?
5. 03:10 How Interest Rate Changes Affect Repayments
6. 05:01 Historical Context of Interest Rates
7. 06:34 Fixed vs. Variable Rates
8. 08:23 Hedging with Fixed and Variable Rates
9. 09:12 Downsides of Fixed Rates
10. 10:06 Buffer Rates and Borrowing Capacity
11. 11:06 Conclusion and Key Takeaways

links Nicola & John mentioned.