An increasing number of Australians are mentally prepared for a significant interest rate hike after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lifted the cash rate for the first time in more than a decade.
According to the Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment survey for May, over three in four respondents (77 percent) anticipated mortgage interest rates to go up over the next 12 months, up from 70 percent in April.
In addition, over half of those surveyed expected interest rates to climb by more than one percent over the next year, a sharp increase compared to only a third of respondents a month ago.
At the same time, the survey’s confidence index slumped by 5.6 percent to the lowest level since August 2020, when the second wave of COVID-19 lockdown struck Victorian residents.
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