According to data from a Resi Mortgage survey, Australians are trying to pay off debt using the lower rates, rather than borrow more.
Lisa Montgomery, head of consumer advocacy at Resi says there had been an 8 per cent increase in those wanting to consolidate debt among the 700 customers surveyed about their finances.
Six per cent of respondents said they would use the lower rates to take on extra financing to improve their home, while there was a 9 per cent fall in those planning to buy a new family house and a 11 per cent decrease in those planning to buy an investment property, the survey said.
''Most people were displaying a conservative approach, but really wanted the opportunity to take advantage of the lower interest rates,'' Ms Montgomery said.
''People in the short term are looking to be prudent, but in the long term they really want to take advantage.''
Since September, the Reserve Bank of Australia has cut official interest rates by four percentage points to a 45-year low of 3.25 per cent, while banks have lowered their standard variable mortgage rate by an average of 3.75 percentage points. Spending on credit cards has slowed too. The central bank says spending on cards was up by only 1 per cent over the year to January 2009, in contrast spending on debit cards was up by more than 15 per cent over the same period
The reserve bank said in its half-yearly Financial Stability Review last week that the finances of some households had improved recently due to low interest rates.
It noted a change in sentiment to a more cautious consumer over the past year.
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