Waiting for Rates to Fall? Here Is What You Can Do Now
When interest rates are uncertain, it can be tempting to put every property or refinancing decision on hold.
Some borrowers wait for house prices to fall before buying. Others delay refinancing because they believe a better deal may be around the corner.
However, trying to perfectly time the interest-rate cycle can leave you standing still while your circumstances continue to change.
The Reserve Bank’s cash rate is currently 4.35%, with the next monetary policy decision scheduled for 11 August 2026. No one can know with certainty what future decisions will be or how quickly individual lenders will adjust their rates.
Rather than waiting for the perfect moment, here are three productive things you can do now.
Understand your current position
Before making any decision, it is important to know where you stand.
For existing homeowners, this means reviewing:
- Your current interest rate
- Monthly repayments
- Remaining loan term
- Fixed-rate expiry date
- Offset or redraw balance
- Property value and available equity
- Other debts and financial commitments
Even relatively small differences in home loan rates, fees and repayments can make a meaningful difference over the life of a loan.
For prospective buyers, understanding your position may involve reviewing your deposit, borrowing capacity, credit commitments and likely purchasing costs.
You do not need to be ready to act immediately. The first goal is simply to replace assumptions with real numbers.
Strengthen your borrowing position
Lenders do not only assess whether you can afford the repayment at the advertised interest rate.
For many bank loans, borrowing capacity is assessed using a serviceability rate that includes a buffer above the actual loan rate. APRA confirmed in May 2026 that the mortgage serviceability buffer remains at three percentage points.
While you cannot control lender policy, you may be able to improve parts of your financial position by:
- Reducing credit-card limits
- Paying down personal loans
- Reviewing buy now, pay later accounts
- Building your savings or offset balance
- Keeping your financial records organised
- Creating a realistic household budget
- Avoiding unnecessary new debt
These steps may help you prepare for a future purchase, refinance or investment application.
Build a strategy for different scenarios
Rather than basing your plans on one prediction, consider what you would do under several possible scenarios.
For example:
- What would you do if rates remained unchanged?
- Could you afford the repayments if rates increased?
- Would a rate reduction change your purchase budget?
- Is there a property price at which buying would make sense?
- Would refinancing now produce enough savings to justify the costs?
- Could you secure a suitable loan now and review it again later?
A good lending strategy should not rely on everything going perfectly.
It should provide enough flexibility to adapt as interest rates, lender policies and your circumstances change.
Preparation is not the same as commitment
Obtaining advice, reviewing borrowing capacity or comparing loans does not obligate you to proceed.
It gives you the information required to make a more confident decision when the right opportunity arrives.
At Kredi Home Loans, we can help you understand your current position, explore different lending scenarios and prepare a strategy based on your goals.
You may decide that waiting is appropriate. You may also discover that you have more options now than you initially thought.