Once again after much media and analyst speculation, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) today just announced that the official interest rate will increase by 0.25% making the base cash rate 7.00%pa. This is now the eleventh consecutive increase.

The primary reason behind this increase is the RBA’s commitment to keep inflation under control.

This means that the average standard variable rate will change shortly to 9.02%pa. For each $100,000 of your mortgage this will increase repayments by approximately $4.80 per week.

Indicatively the best fixed rates as of today will be about 8.20% fixed for two (2) or three (3) years.

For an article in The Age about the increase please click_here

Labor party Chief Kevin Rudd became the next Prime Minister of Australia with a landslide victory over the Coalition, ending John Howard’s eleven and half years of reign as Prime Minister of Australia.

Mr. Rudd, a former diplomat who is fluent in spoken mandarin, said in his victory speech in Brisbane last Saturday night that he will be Prime Minister of Australia for ALL Australians and promised to look into the Kiyoto agreement as well as the possibility of withdrawing troops from Iraq to be more independent.

Personally, I felt he won because he’s very much a conservative politician. Australia; hopefully will become better, more prosperous with an even stronger economy under a new and dynamic leader and that means good news for all Australian property investors…