🏠 Housing, rates & cost of living — what leaves your wallet when rates move

Calculate it yourself

Check your own situation

• Is your loan variable or fixed — and if fixed, when does the term end?
• Is it principal-and-interest or interest-only?
• If you have advance payments or a redraw balance, have you read how your bank recalculates the minimum repayment?
• Did you check a rent increase against your lease and the notice period in your state?
• Do you keep the bond conditions and the condition report from move-in?
• Have you compared electricity, gas and internet plans in the last 12 months?
• At insurance renewal, did you compare the auto-renewal premium with other quotes?

Checks are not saved. Keep your own notes.

A$600,000 over 30 years, principal and interest — monthly repayment by rate (illustrative)

Illustrative only; lenders calculate and charge differently. Your actual repayment follows your loan contract. Not individual advice.

Representative guides

• Commercial Tenancy Dispute Resolution in NSW

  Mediation may reduce the time and legal costs of a tenancy dispute. Practical arrangements such as payment plans or handing over a fit-out may help reduce financial uncertainty and operational risks.

• Is Lower Interest Enough? Comparing Total Loan Refinancing Costs

  Allows for a comparison of cost differences, including new setup fees, maintenance costs, and exit fees for existing loans, which are easily overlooked when only comparing low interest rates.

Related reading

• Renting in Australia: Look at the Cash That Gets Locked Up Before the Weekly Rent

  When you rent in Australia, the real pressure is not just the weekly rent. Bond, rent in advance, temporary accommodation, furniture and utilities all hit your cash flow in the first 4-8 weeks.

• What Share of Your Pay Goes to Rent? — Australia's Rent Stress in 2026

  Australian rents have climbed to roughly a third of household income. With a national median rent of $705/week, a 1.6% vacancy rate and tight listings, here's how migrants, students and working-holiday makers should budget.

• Australian Rents 2026 by City — Sydney House Rents Hit a Record $850/Week

  A city-by-city, house-vs-unit read of Australia's June-quarter 2026 rental market. Sydney houses $850, Brisbane $700, national median $670 — and why the city and dwelling type you pick are the real settling budget.

• Home Prices Are Easing but Rents Keep Rising — What It Means for Your Settling Budget

  In June 2026, Australian home values fell the most in two years, yet rents went up. Here is why prices and rents run on different engines, and what it signals for a newcomer's first 90 days.

• The Cost of Settling in Australia: the Scariest Part Is the Money That Gets 'Locked Up'

  Sydney family rents now run close to a thousand a week. The real cost of settling in Australia, in Korean won — and why the line items matter less than the cash that gets 'locked up' and the FX rate.