Queenslanders with $500k mortgage facing $500 repayment hike

Queenslanders with a mortgage could be forking out almost $500 a month more in repayments than in May, after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash rate on Tuesday, with more hikes on the way.

Queenslanders with a mortgage will be forking out almost $500 a month more in repayments than they were in May, after the RBA again raised the cash rate on Tuesday, with more hikes on the way.

The 0.5-percentage-point rise pushed the cash rate to 1.85 per cent.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said while the increase was not a surprise, homeowners would still feel the “sting”.

“Australians knew this was coming, but it won’t make it any easier for them to handle,” Mr Chalmers said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says Australians will feel the sting of the latest move from the Reserve Bank. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

For a Queenslander with the average mortgage of $516,688, with a variable rate of 3.84 per cent, the 0.5-percentage-point rise will see them pay an extra $143 a month.

But they will be paying $470 more a month when compared to May, when the average variable rate mortgage was 2.64 per cent.

Interest rates set by the Reserve Bank of Australia have risen 1.7 per cent since the first of a series of increases in May, rising from a record low of just 0.1 per cent.

The RBA is seeking to tackle skyrocketing inflation which is expected to reach close to almost 8 per cent by the end of the year.

Gold Coast couple Stephanie Ede and Jake Thompson have said they aren’t overly worried about the rates rise today seeing as they already pay more than their minimum mortgage repayments.

They bought their Surfers apartment in January this year starting on a variable rate of 2.29%.

“The rates rise is obviously going to affect us, with the rise of the mortgage and everything in general like petrol, groceries and cost of living,” Ms Ede said.

“We are just lucky and grateful that we have both incomes to help us”.

Mr Thompson said the interest rates been low for so long that he expected a rise.

“Hopefully it just plateaus at the end of the year,” Mr Thompson said.

“We’re just going to cut down more on groceries and be more sensible with the way we spend our money”.

Stephanie Ede and Jake Thompson are preparing for another interest rate rise after buying a unit at Surfers Paradise. Picture: Adam Head