While many property owners and first home buyers are celebrating yesterday’s Reserve Bank decision to leave rates unchanged there’s interest rate pain to come according to President of REIWA, Alan Bourke. Quoted on WA Today, Mr Bourke urged home owners to budget for a big increase in the near future.

Real Estate Institute of WA president Alan Bourke said the RBA might have to increase rates by up to 0.5 of a percentage point in the next six months if the economy continued to grow strongly.

“This… would seem likely, so home owners should understand that this pause in rate rises may not last, and those people with mortgages should take steps to budget for any further increases and keep an eye on their spending,” he said.

And whilst President of the national body of agents, REIA believes that the RBA decision is good news a number of other commentators are pointing to the risks of a imminent housing bubble.

What effect do you think the RBA’s decision will have on the market? When do you expect rates to rise again?