Tasmanian homeowners are feeling the impact of repeated interest rate rises, with the most recent 0.25 percentage point cash rate hike adding to already stretched household budgets.
Alex Gill and her partner built their family home in southern Tasmania three years ago. Like many new builds, it cost more than budgeted. Ms Gill, a mother of two, said the latest rise makes things tighter and she may need to increase her part-time working hours.
"We're just going to have to make it work because we love being here, we love Tasmania," she said. But if rates continue to climb, the family may consider more drastic action. "It definitely makes us think about maybe selling in the future and not staying in the home that we're in because things are getting up there," she said.
Ella Tenni, also from southern Tasmania, is in the middle of selling and buying a home. "So I did have a bit of a pause, maybe feeling a bit worried about that, but in the scheme of things we're in a position that we'll be able to absorb it," she said. She added that she sometimes worries about further rises but "does put my head in the sand and try not to think about it."
Consumer research company Canstar has calculated what the 0.25 per cent hike means for borrowers. For someone who took out the average new loan size in Tasmania at the start of the year, $505,000, minimum monthly repayments will increase by $81. Tasmania's average wages remain lower than those in other states, adding to the strain for local families.